Alex. 30. She/Her. Just your average girl just trying to get through life by writing fanfics in her spare time. Mostly writes female readers but I'll try to do GN if asked to do so. REQUESTS OPEN
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Please have a listen to the following videos that I've got set up for you guys in order to set the mood. I won't drag this author's note out for long cause you guys have waited long enough so I hope you all enjoy these two chapters I've got in stored and until I get the next chapter up, it'll be another wait but once that chapter gets published get ready for the next binge read I've got in stored. But until then, enjoy my lovely Celestial readers :)
“Hela’s biggest regret didn’t come after the Battle of the Five Armies, nor did it come from when she was chosen as the Last Celestial by our mother. No her biggest regret came from when we lost our home.” Druig spoke as he and Merry now levitated over the party that lay before them.
“But Hela never spoke about having a true home.”
“That’s because what happened that night became so much for her, that I thought it’d be wise to just erase this memory from her for good. But now I see that it is that memory that could snap her out of this illusion and back into reality. But I must warn you Merry.” The young hobbit looked up at Hela’s brother, “What you are about to witness is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. Not even Saurman the White could’ve created something of this scale when he used the art of gunpowder into making what Phastos once envisioned as a bomb.”
“But we’ll be safe, right?”
“As I said, these are mere visions of the past mixed with the curse that binds Hela’s mind to this place. Nothing can harm us here, but that doesn’t mean what you’ll see isn’t real.”
“Whatever it takes Druig, do it. Hela needs this.” Druig nodded and raised his hand up towards the sky, his eyes glowing a pure gold as the once peaceful sunset sky began to flash with lightning before falling down the sky like falling stars.
I sat there with Haldir watching as my Starlight brothers and Sisters performed a magical display of starlight and sunbeams with the light of the setting sun. The sky was a gorgeous color of orange, pink and purple as it’s perfect stage.
I nuzzled into Haldir’s chest when some of my younger brothers and sisters started to take notice of the strange cosmic lights falling from the sky that weren’t our Starlight brothers and sisters.
“Whoa.” Phastos marveled in awe. I too was intrigued by these lights. Sprite left Cersei’s side and she went up to Phastos who stood on the edge of our palace and asked him.
“What are they Phastos?”
“I—I do not know.” Sprite then flew herself all the way to the top of one of the towers and we soon watched as the sky was now raining of those cosmic lights.
“Haldir, you should go back in—” when I turned Haldir was nowhere to be seen. “Haldir? Haldir!?” my heart raced as the sound of birds flying away cawing out in warning of something bad coming. Cersei sniffed the air and grew tense as her eyes remained heavily fixated on the showing lights just behind our homeland. “Cersei? What is it sister?”
“This is not the weather of the world.” My hand trembled as I raced up to Phastos.
“Brother Phastos, where’s Sprite and Haldir?”
“Who?” Phastos spoke in a daze as his focus remained on the sky. What? How could he not know of our own little sister or my husband? He was officiated our wedding. That’s when a giant flash came from the sky.
A giant ball of fire, smoke and ash fell straight down from the heavens. It was the biggest thing I had ever seen, probably almost as big as a mountain if it had been morphed and crushed into a giant ball. A trailblaze of smoke followed in it’s wake as it continued to fall faster and faster toward the earth until it hit directly into the sea and a bright flash of light came forth from its impact.
All of us stood there in shock as the sky slowly grew darker than normal and smoke in the shape of a giant mushroom was all that could be seen. The waves from the sea had a strange, red glow to them and then WHIP!
The wind suddenly knocked us all off guard. This was unlike anything that I had been hit with when battling my Elemental brothers and sisters. For a dark magic came with this wind as it whipped at us again, this time knocking us all off our feet.
“COME ON! GO! GO COME ON!!” Thena exclaimed as she got those around her onto their feet and they all took off running. The ground rumbled and shook as my brothers and sisters fled from the palace.
I stood frozen in fear as the explosion began to shoot out black and red comets toward us and a cloud of thick smoke moved faster than I’ve seen Makkari or any of my Sound Celestials run.
“Hela! HELA WAKE UP!” I felt someone shake me. That’s when I felt a hard slap across my face as another voice said to me,
“RUN HELA! RUN! RUN!” there I saw Druig and Hermes standing over me and quickly I got up on my feet and ran as fast as I could before I was picked up by Hermes and he and Druig flew as fast as they could.
The comets scattered over our entire homeland, blowing up anything and all in their paths. The horses and Erumpents were set lose but they too were caught in the crossfires as I heard their heartbeats go silent.
“GILGAMESH COME ON!” Druig called out as he used his levitation powers to lift Gilgamesh into the air and fly with us. More Starlight, Elemental, and Mind Celestials joined up carrying each of our siblings. As more explosions came around us trying to trap us within the dark smoke that was getting closer and closer to us, we soon caught sight of Makkari and Kingo running through the trees just nearby us.
“MAKKARI!” I called up.
“MAKKARI! KINGO! JUMP!” the rest of my siblings called out to them. I watched as Kingo wrapped his arms around Makkari and fired a cosmic whip towards Ikaris and Cersei who each held onto it as Cersei called out to them.
“HOLD ON!!” she used her air bending powers to bring them closer to them and carry them just like they were everyone else. As we continued flying, a black comet fired between Druig and Hermes steering him of course and sending all of us across the ground.
From the smoke I could see fire-like eyes staring at me but before I could see the creature more clearly, I was picked up again this time by Makkari as she sped us across the ground dodging each comet that just barely fell on top of us.
All of us kept running and fleeing from the never ending explosions that kept sounding off all around us. The sound of some of my brothers and sisters screaming before they were quickly silenced by something as they were caught by the smoke or by the falling comets.
But then we came to the far end of the cliffs where the great Eastern sea stood. There was no other way we’d all get out of this unless we jumped from the high cliffs. I turned and could see our beloved palace be obliterated by the smoke and as the dark black and red cloud got closer, I could see the formation of a creature within.
A large serpent-like creature with piercing fire-like eyes. The Leviathan! I—this has all happened before. But why?
I let out a piercing scream as I covered my ears and suddenly all went quiet. There were no more explosions, no more fear, no more panic. All my brothers and sisters were also gone, all that was left was just a black space of emptiness.
I softly wept feeling the illusion that I had over me break. I failed, again.
“Hela! Hela! Hela! Oh Hela it’s okay, it’s over. It’s over now, we’re here.” I looked up and saw a familiar shade of curly blonde hair.
“M—Merry?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
“But—how do I know it’s really you?”
“When you came to Hobbiton when Pip and I were still young halflings and we stole your gauntlets. You had tracked us to the Green Dragon where we tried to take Druig’s stone to get us some fresh warm bread. And you warned us, ‘Try to take the stone if you will little Hobbits, but if you do be prepared to experience a pain unlike any other. Fire burning you from the inside out, your blood boiling like water in a kettle over a roaring fire and feeling every inch of your skin peeling off bit by bit.’”
“It—it really is you.” I hugged my beloved Halfling and he embraced me back.
“Turns out you were right. But thankfully he helped ease some of that pain.”
“He?” he pointed and my eyes widened as I saw my older twin. “Druig.” He smiled at me.
“Hello my sweet, sweet Hela.”
“But how—how are you? I…..”
“Not even Sauron can keep the Triplets of the Second-age apart. Plus I knew you’d need some help from your favorite brother when you truly needed it most. And it seemed that it was now.” I looked down sadly.
“I am so sorry brother. I-I failed you all. Sauron’s Celestials of Death bested me. They—I……” I sighed heavily and looked down from my brother in shame. I felt Merry place a comforting hand to my back.
“Hela, hear my words. I know better than anyone in this world that the mind is both a blessing and a curse. We make up a perfect world in our minds and wish we could escape to that world rather than live in the world we do now. But through your eyes I have seen that even when things seem the darkest, there are those who beyond us still cling onto hope until the very end. And those people are the ones you gladly call Celestial brothers and sisters.” He lifted my chin up. “Your friends have not abandoned hope on your return, so don’t you abandon returning to them.”
Druig turned his attention to Merry which made me look down at him. Merry took my hand and squeezing it tightly. From his touch I saw visions of Haldir, Aragorn and the others fighting against Nergal, Cain and Deimos dueling a Celestial’s duel to the death, the people of Gondor hidden within Gondor’s lower caves praying for my return.
My shame and sorrow turned to confidence and power. My hands glowed a pure white as I gripped the floor and I closed my eyes as a white light came all around us.
We now stood before my Memory tree which was once again in full bloom. The poison that once had me trapped within my mind had now been extinguished and purged never to return.
“It’s them or me this time. For there is only one true Celestial of Death created by Mandos, forged and gifted by Lady Nienna and blessed to life by Eru Illuvitar.”
“Show them who you are my sister. And know you have all of us beside you. You know what to do.” Druig said as he came up to me and held the back of my head and pressed our foreheads together. “I love you.”
“I love you Druig.” He then turned to Merry and placed a strong hand to his shoulder.
“And to you Master Meriadoc Brandybuck. I give to you my full power. Aid my sister in this fight against Sauron’s excuse of Celestials.”
“I will Master Druig.” He then touched Merry’s forehead and a golden light encompassed us and I woke up with a gasp.
I shot up from a bed and saw myself in one of the highest guard towers and I could hear Merry panting just as heavily as I was.
“Merry! Hela! You both came back!” we turned to see Pippin and Haldir standing in the room with us. Pippin ran over and embraced the two of us and we hugged him back. That’s when I began to notice the Celestial armor not only on Pippin but Merry as well.
“I knew you two would fit with Sprite’s and Druig’s celestial powers fairly well.” Pippin nodded but Merry looked down at himself in surprise.
“Just like me and Hela’s little sister Sprite. Can you do Druig’s magic as well?”
“I think we shall get a demonstration of that later.” Haldir said.
“He’s right, Cain needs our help and I’m gonna need both of your help to bring him down.” My little hobbits nodded and Merry said.
“Just tell us what you need us to do and we’ll do it Hela.”
“Merry. I’d like you and Pippin to locate any Celestial chains you can find. Like the ones the Uruk’s used to keep my powers bound. If it works for one Celestial of Death it should work for them too.” They nodded and left the room leaving Haldir and I alone.
I got up from the bed and he stood before me setting Aeglos to the side.
“Haldir, I—” I was interrupted by him embracing me tightly. I felt his body trembling as a single tear fell onto my neck. I embraced him back stroking down his long hair. “Do not blame yourself, right now I will need you the most out of everyone. Aeglos obeys you now, I need you to be at my side when the time is right for you to fight.”
“For you Hela, anything.” He said separating from me.
“We found them Hela, now what do we do?” Pippin asked as he and Merry charged back into the room with the Celestial bonding chains. We heard an explosion coming from the Pelennor fields and as we ran out of the tower and looked up to the sky and saw a Starlight Celestial raining hellfire down to the ground I knew it was Cain.
“That’s got to be Cain!” Merry exclaimed happily. I looked up at my brother worriedly as I took off the ring he gave me and could feel his heartbeat starting to fade.
He wouldn’t survive this fight with the way he’s burning up so much energy. His body must’ve been in crucial agony before being given this third chance to become a Celestial once more.
“Come on, he’ll need our help.” Merry focused on Druig’s powers of levitation and soon lifted both Haldir and myself off the ground while Pippin focused on sprouting wings from his back and soon eagle wings came forth and we flew towards the battle ahead.
As we flew over the White city and over the fields towards the battle I told Merry.
“Merry once we’re close enough, I need you to use Druig’s powers to force his body to freeze. Just keep repeating what you want him to do and he’ll do it. But if you feel him slipping just for a second, use his binding powers to keep him still. Pip, once Merry has him on his knees, use the chains to bind him. Make sure that he’s not able to use his hands or feet to fight or escape.”
“Right!” they both said. We flew closer and that’s when Merry’s eyes glowed Druig’s mind-controlling gold as he put the plan into action. He then raised his arm after awhile as it began to glow red and Deimos’ body raised up before being forced onto his knees in front of my brother.
“It’s time you accepted your fate Deimos the Executioner, or should I call you Reuel son of Meuel of Gondor.” We all landed onto the fields and Pippin quickly ran over towards Deimos and chained him up just like I had asked him too.
No longer was he afraid of Deimos as he tightened the chains forcing the so called ‘Celestial of Death’ to not even be able to move his hand even an inch. His anger physically seething as he stared with pure hatred at the two hobbits that bested him but I could see further in him.
His mortal body had now reached its limits with my Celestial magic.
“Hela!” we all turned and soon Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, Gandalf, Faramir and Eomer all came forward.
“Hela.” Aragorn softly praised.
“Well done Merry, you brought our Celestial back.” Gandalf praised the young hobbit.
“The only question now is what to do about him?” Eomer asked.
“I can think of several things I’d like to do with him.” Faramir sneered.
“Leave it Faramir, do not stoop to his level of violence.” I told him. I turned to Cain and gave him a nod and he looked at me with sad glowing eyes but there was an understanding as he nodded back. I turned my attention to Deimos who was hyperventilating aggressively. I walked over to him until I stood just over him.
“You…….you abandoned us. He—he used us as puppets just to get to you. How can you call yourself our Savior if you abandoned us?” he spoke not as a Celestial but as his former self, a soldier of Gondor taken from his home as an experiment to the Dark Lord to become his own Celestial of Death.
My Celestial power was burning him from the inside out as he no longer had any control over it. Never before has he needed to burn this much Celestial energy, all he did was use it as an instrument of Fear and Control.
“I’m no one’s savior. I am what you three say I am. And I’m sorry.”
“No you’re not, you’re cruel!” he sneered. A slight smirk quirked at the corner of my lips as I stared him down.
“Mortals cannot hold power like mine without going mad. And I’m afraid it’s too late to take back that power now, let it complete its job and put you out of your misery.” His anger soon morphed into fear as he pleaded.
“No. Please….take it. Take it back. Take it back take it back TAKE IT BACK!!”
“Death is unbiased, irreversible, and final. I cannot intervene and show you mercy when you so clearly deny it.” His breathing became frantic as he suddenly lashed out.
From his mouth the Celestial magic that coursed through his veins shot out like dragon fire of black and red as he shot it left, then right, then across the ground before falling to his back writhing in pure agony. His screams soon morphed into hysterical sobs as tears of blood poured down from his eyes.
Everyone either turned away or watched with anguished pity as Deimos writhed like a rabid animal until his sobs quieted and his body went still. His heartbeat was no more and I felt his soul burn out completely.
As I turned away from Deimos body, I was suddenly tackled in a hug by Gimli and I hugged him back just as tightly.
“Oh never did I think I’d see your bright and beautiful face again lass. Bless you!” Gimli wept. I patted his back.
“It’s good to see you too Gimli. And in my brother Gilgamesh’s armor. In fact it seems more have been gifted the favor of my Celestial family.” I said looking at Legolas and Aragorn to see them wearing Cersei’s and Ajak’s Celestial armors respectively.
“Nergal was going for your mother’s gemstone when I intervened. The pain was even more than you warned us about. But once I accepted to share the power with the others, there was this warmth flowing through me.” Aragorn said.
“Through all of us.” Legolas added.
“And then Aragorn with just an open palm sent that sickness Nergal back to where he belonged.” Gimli praised colliding his fist to his palm. I smiled before turning my attention to Cain. I came around Gimli and stood before my big brother and cupped the side of his face. He leaned into my touch holding my hand between both of his. I looked at him solemnly and he said to me assuringly.
“I’m ready Hela.”
“Ready for what?” asked Pippin.
“The power of the Starlight Celestial gemstone gave Cain his powers back, but his body still isn’t strong enough to fully keep it. He’s dying Pip even now.”
“What? But he—Aragorn can heal him. He’s got your Celestial Prime’s powers, he can heal him!” Merry bargained.
“Not for a wound like this. Even Ajak couldn’t fully rearrange organs to function again if they’ve been damaged as severely as Cain’s are.” I told them.
“No!” Merry wept.
“It’s alright Merry.” Cain walked up and knelt down in front of him. “Deimos was right about one thing. I did take my second chance at life for granted. I was so angry with the world that I became even more blind than I physically am for a long time. Until Hela came to me, and I got to know you. And Aragorn, Legolas and the other members of the Fellowship. This time, I can die happy surrounded by my friends instead of in failure when the Balrog killed my family.”
“I don’t want you to go! We still need you Cain!” Merry’s voice quivered in heartbreak as he took Cain’s hand and squeezed it tightly.
“You truly are a worthy soul for Druig’s powers Meriadoc Brandybuck. And I’m honored to have taught you all that I know, now all you need to learn is how to say goodbye.” He pulled away from Merry and just as he tried to go back for Cain, Pippin and Gimli stopped him as Cain walked back up to me and stood in front of me.
I reached up and touched his injury and his forehead as I took back his Celestial power. His Starlight aura began to dim and his armor vanish leaving him in his rouge attire once again. He let out a soft groan as he fell backwards. Merry shot away from Pippin and Gimli and caught Cain to ease his fall.
He touched his neck and turned to me with red-brimmed eyes and tears falling down his face.
“He’s gone. He’s gone.” He hugged Cain’s corpse and we all shed our tears for Cain’s passing. Pippin came up and gripped Merry’s shoulders comfortingly as Merry cried into Cain’s neck. I looked at my gauntlets and saw the Starlight gem go back into its place, but it still glowed brightly.
I nodded and let out an exhale as I allowed a light to come forth out of my body and a bright spiritual ball hovered over us. It morphed into a star before soon turning into Cain’s spirit. His eyes being as they were before his first death so he could see all of us. A soft smile came across his face as he bid us a final farewell.
“Farewell my friends,” his spirit came up to Merry and cupped his cheek like a father would his son, “I shall always be with you.” He then kissed Merry’s forehead. Merry closed his eyes trying to be strong but a few tears slipped past his lashes as Cain’s spirit faded away completely leaving us. ‘Win this war for us all sister. You know what you must do.’
‘I’ll do you proud, Cain.’
‘You always have.’ Tears slipped down my face. The sound of loud banging at the shield surrounding the city broke us out of our mourning. The Deviants were growing restless and it would only be a matter of time before they’d break the barriers or worse, move onto another location.
“These beasts have been incessantly banging at those shields. It’d be best if we destroy them all at once now while we have the power to do so!” Gimli proclaimed.
“They’d bring the city to its knees even with our power.” Legolas said.
“No, Gimli’s right.” I told them. I looked to each of my friends and said to them, “I thought I could spare Middle Earth by sealing them away through me. But all I was doing was just burying my troubles away, much like I once tried to bury my grief. But it took two dwarves long ago for me to realize I couldn’t allow myself to keep it bottled up. The same can now be said for those soulless beasts. They must be destroyed for good this time.”
“And this time you’ll have the help you need.” Merry said taking my hand in his. “For Cain, and all your brothers and sisters who fell at the hands of these beasts.” I nodded.
“Faramir, you and Eomer take Cain’s body back to the house of Healing. We’ll buy you both some time to get there.” I walked over to them and with Thena’s powers, I blessed their weapons to become Celestial weapons. “If anything should make it past us, fight with every ounce of strength you both can muster. You two now possess the strengthened weapons of the Celestial of War. Trust in your skills, and my sister will guide you to where you need to cut them down.”
“We will not fail you Lady Hela.” They both said to me as they gave me my Celestial bow in respect before taking Cain’s corpse and raced back towards the White city as fast as they could on foot. My friends and I all stood side by side of each other staring the Deviants that still desperately tried to gnaw, headbutt, scratch and slam into the shield trying to break it.
“Can’t say this’ll be like any foe you lot have ever faced before. They won’t go down easily like orcs and goblins. And their skin is tough much like a cave troll’s.” I told them.
“We’ve faced a lot of foes during this quest Hela, these beasts will fall just like the rest.” Gimli told me.
“We’re right beside you Hela, right till the end.” Merry said.
“The power of your kin flows through our veins. This time you’ll have more Celestial help to finally bring these demons down.” Legolas said to me.
“And if this is meant to be our last stand, then we’ll be sure to give them a fight they’ll never forget.” Aragorn said to me. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
“Once I drop that shield, all hell will break loose upon the city. Be sure to avoid…..”
“Your brother Cain told us about each breed of Deviants, we’ll know who to look out for.” Gimli assured me.
“Varda bless you brother. Alright, now I know you two have been having a competition with each battle but I ask you both, take this seriously. The Deviants won’t hesitate to sense arrogance and use that to their advantage to take Gilgamesh’s and Cersei’s powers. Is that understood?” Legolas and Gimli nodded knowing that the time to see who can kill the more enemies Elves or Dwarves would have to wait till the next battle.
I then turned specifically to Haldir and he turned to me. I gave him a nod and his eyes shifted into acceptance. This was his signal that he now knew that he was to be my best fighter compared to the others, especially since he didn’t have full Celestial powers like the others did nor could he do magic to the scale that Gandalf can.
“Brace yourselves my brothers, my friends.” I stepped forward and raised my hands out as they glowed. My eyes also glowed as the shield slowly parted from the front allowing the Deviants to charge head on right towards us. I activated Kingo’s energy projection technique at my right hand as I stood at the front lines.
I had once prayed I never find myself in this position again since the last time I barely escaped with my life. But this time, with my friends at my side with the power of some of the brothers and sisters now surging through their bodies, we might have a chance at finally ending these beasts once and for all.
“FOR MIDDLE EARTH!!!” I exclaimed.
“FOR MIDDLE EARTH!!!” my friends all chorused behind me as we ran at full speed towards the Deviants. I raised my arm out and readied the first shot that I would take at the largest Deviant I had my eyes on. A monster with the body of a bear and six legs racing ahead of the others. It’s large fangs exposed as it roared intimidatingly as it set its eyes on me.
I took the first shot straight into its mouth as it collapsed and I readied out a Celestial sword using Thena’s technique and cut through its head like it were bread. Merry levitating in the sky used Druig’s powers to incapacitate some of the Flyers coming down toward us while Pippin using Sprite’s powers to give himself Great eagle wings flew up and slaughtered the ones Merry had captured in his grasp.
Haldir and Aragorn worked together tag-teaming each other with their swords to take down every Deviant that came near them. Legolas and Gimli did the same thing as Legolas used my sister Cersei’s fire-daggers to cut through each Deviant that came near him. And with the light-footed skill of the elves, gracefully bounced from one Deviant to the other and took them down with ease as if he had battled against these creatures his whole life.
Gimli took great pride in the strength of the Strongholds’ that now surged through his body. Like his uncle and King, Dain Ironfoot, he was even able to just give some of the Deviants a single head butt before they went down unconscious allowing him time to tear their heads off or their limbs apart one by one leaving them vulnerable to an attack from any of us.
Fighting alongside my friends using my kins Celestial powers, it was like fighting with my brothers and sisters once again. I stabbed one Deviant in the eye before grabbing it by the neck and twisted it killing it instantly. Their numbers were decreasing gradually but suddenly they ceased their attacks and went on alert.
Their fire-pit eyes dulled as they retreated away from the city. Something wasn’t right, Deviants never retreat and their eyes, no it-it couldn’t be.
“Everyone gather around tightly!” the guys all joined around me as we got into a tight circle.
“Hela what is this? Why did they suddenly retreat?” asked Pippin.
“There’s only one reason for that. It’s not that they’re retreating, they’re being called back.” I answered grimly. Red lightning flashed through the sky and I could see the glimmer of a snake-like body slithering through the black clouds. “The one thing that could call back the Deviants. The very being that killed more Celestials than any other before,”
Then it showed itself. The giant serpent of shadow and darkness. Eyes as red and evil as the Dark Lord Sauron himself, it’s body almost encompassed an entire section of the sky ahead of us as it slithered in and out of the clouds before it’s head finally revealed itself. The mother of all Deviants, the Leviathan had arrived.
But what caught my attention was what lay on the crown of the Leviathan’s head. I narrowed my eyes before gasping softly.
“Illuvitar help us.”
“What? What do you see?” asked Aragorn.
“There at the crown of the Leviathan’s head. It’s Perses.”
“She’s right, look at the center of the beasts head.” Legolas said. I’ve never even knew something like that was possible. No one had ever combined with a Deviant before nor did I think it was possible since all they knew was absorbing of Celestial powers or brutal mauling.
“So….you have returned.” Perses’ voice echoed through the sky. His lips did not move since he was now combined with the Leviathan but his thoughts spoke out loud through a telepathic bond. It also spoke with a mix of a growl and a hiss, almost like how dragons speak, “Not that it matters. By now the Deviants have conquered most of Middle Earth.”
Suddenly I felt a struck with an agonizing pain in my chest. A sensation that I felt whenever I had gotten struck by a Deviant. I saw flashes of Erebor, Laketown, Lothlorien, Rivendell, Mirkwood, the Iron Hills, the borders of the Shire, and as far as the Blue Mountains being invaded by the Deviants. Panicked screams of men, elves, dwarves, and hobbits as they were being hunted down by the Deviants.
Some of them tried to fight back but it was all in vain as they were turned to stone due to their ravenous hunger. After being sealed for so long, at this point they’re willing to take anyone in order to gain strength.
“You have failed as the last Celestial of Middle Earth. Soon there will be nothing left but Shadow and Darkness.” I shook my head before glaring up at him.
“She’s not alone.” Aragorn started off. “She has never been alone. Hela has wondered all of Middle Earth protecting and serving her people. Guiding them when they are lost, protecting them when it was needed, and aiding them whether for aid or war. And her kindness has been returned forward standing before you.”
“Never before has the power of the Celestials been shared with anyone not of Celestial blood. But from Lady Hela’s kindness and all that she has done for us and our kinsmen before us, we offered ourselves in turn to aid her in her fight against the toughest foe she has ever faced. And her kin saw to that and we proudly and honorable accept the power we’ve been given.”
“For we aren’t ones to use the Celestials power for greed or power like you or your former brothers.” Legolas spoke up.
“But to defend our friends, our families, our homes.” Said Merry.
“That includes Lady Hela herself!” Pippin finished.
“Sentiment.” Scoffed Perses. “Then you fools can fall just like the rest of her kin!” the Leviathan roared an earth-shattering roar that shook the air and tried to ground us down to the earth from the very pressure of it but we all held firm.
“All mighty Valar and Illuvitar help us. I hoped I’d never have to see this serpent again.”
“Hela there must be a weakness on that beast! Did you or any of your kin ever find out how to bring that creature down?” Gimli asked me.
“Unfortunately no Gimli. We hardly saw the Leviathan and had any chance to truly fight it. All we knew was it could reproduce more Deviants from it’s very skin and grow stronger with more power each of its spawn absorbs. And it was this thing’s very reason why I couldn’t stop Smaug from attacking Erebor and Dale.”
“Seeing a beast like this I can understand why. From the very tales Smaug is nothing but a field mouse compared to this demon.”
“But there is something about it this time unlike before. I hope I’m right but it’s not as strong as it once was. There’s a couple of theories that are going through my mind right now. One it could be perhaps due to how long it had been sealed away, it finally used up all the Celestial energy it obtained from its spawn and is now only relying on mortal means of strength. Theory two is maybe when Perses combined with the Leviathan, it had to sacrifice most of its original strength in order to cope with being absorbed into a human body. No Deviant has dared tried to make a host out of its prey, they only know how to kill and destroy.”
“So you’re saying we could be the ones to kill it?” asked Haldir.
“I can’t say for certain if it’ll fully be destroyed but we might be able to weaken it more than if it were at full strength. But we have to do it fast. On my signal, I want all of you to hit it with any and all attacks simultaneously. Don’t stop until I give the word and then once I do, we attack it all at once from every angle at the center of its body with the most strongest attacks at your disposal. But be careful not to directly touch its skin. There have been rumors that this beast can absorb you if it feels a single finger touching it.”
They all nodded in agreement before turning their attention back towards the Leviathan.
The great beast let out another thunderous roar down upon us but we held firm.
“NOW! CELESTIALS ATTACK!!” Merry and Pippin flew towards the Leviathan letting out a fierce battle cry. Merry’s hands glew red as Pippin shifted into a dragon and breathed out a powerful blue fire blast as Merry used Druig’s telepathic powers to send up large portions of rubble or even used the tusks of the Mumakil to pierce it’s hide. Legolas too also took to the skies as he used Cersei’s powers to gather up the four elements and have them surrounding him before extending his arm out to allow the Elemental spear to charge straight for the Great Beast.
Gimli slammed his fists together as Gilgamesh’s gauntlets glew bronze and he punched forward which sent an astral projection of my brother’s powerful ‘Phantom Punch’ attack straight at the beasts face. Aragorn’s mantle crown glowed pure gold while his hands were surrounded in the blue magic of my mother Ajak.
He summoned a powerful orb into the palms of his hands and fired it right at the Great beast. For Haldir I used Thena’s power to briefly shift Aeglos into a mighty bow and each time he would pull back the bowstring, an arrow the size of a Black arrow would appear for him to fire at the beast. As he pulled back the string to allow the glowing Celestial arrow to appear, I shifted into Kingo’s Celestial armor and summoned out a powerful blast to fire right at the beast’s chest. Haldir had already released three arrows but the fourth one he wanted for me to power up my attack and together the two of us aimed straight for the heart of the beast.
From all angles we coordinated our attacks and kept up the attack until I cried out.
“CELESTIAL FORMATION!!” and with a battle cry from all of us, we all attacked the Great beast together. Smoke and bright Celestial light encompassed the Leviathan. But even with all our power, the beast remained without a single scratch.
‘So when do you plan on launching your real attack Hela?’ Perses mocked as the Leviathan reeled itself further up into the air like a snake while Perses’ laugh echoed through the skies. ‘Now do you realize what you’re dealing with?’
“Merry use Druig’s power to increase your telepathic control! Make this worm feel the wrath of 10,000 Celestials!” Merry flew further above the great beast and with the glow of his eyes and his palms he proclaimed.
“In the name of Lord Druig Celestial of Illusion! I end your reign foul beast! This is for the Celestials you first took when you were created! DIE!!!!” the beast was soon enveloped in Druig’s red magic as it reared it’s head back and roared in agony. Soon all the remained of the Great beast was an orb of red light.
“The laddie did it!” praised Gimli. But as the light faded away, the Leviathan still stood proudly like nothing had happened to it.
‘Hahahahaha! Could have fooled me!’ Perses mocked.
“We’ve hit it with everything we’ve got and not one single scratch!” Haldir exclaimed.
“I hate to bring it up now, but I think it might be that thing’s turn to attack us now.” Pippin said as he landed back on the ground shifting back into his hobbit self.
The Leviathan let out another earth-shattering roar almost shattering our hearing as we clenched our ears in agony. It then opened it’s mouth and warming up inside was a powerful golden Celestial beam that could almost rival Cain’s ‘Starlight wrath’ technique.
“If that attacks hits, Gondor will be wiped completely off the map!” I then turned to Gimli and said to him.
“Gimli use Gilgamesh’s barrier shield to create a barrier around the entire city! I’ll enforce it with Thena’s shield. Hold firm no matter what!” he nodded and we stood together as we raised our fists into the air before slamming them into the ground. Bronze and golden light soon formed around the city right as the attack came down on us.
We soon felt a great force trying to weigh us down but we both held firm. Surrounding the barrier, the landscape of Gondor proceeded to become nothing but a wasteland. The Pelennor fields once green had now became dry and barren, parts of the mountain range surrounding Gondor were obliterated from the attack.
“Hela. I—don’t think I can….hold this….much longer!” Gimli told me as his arm struggled to hold firm to the ground
“Just a bit longer Gimli. Hang in there!” I assured him. I too felt my body starting to tremble under the pressure of the attack. After what felt like eternity, the attack finally stopped leaving Gimli and I exhausted and barely able to stand. “Leviathan’s too strong. I—I don’t know how else we can beat it.” I said defeatedly.
“It hasn’t defeated us yet.” Aragorn told me as he extended his hand out to me. I looked up at him and he helped me to my feet. “So long as we stand and have breath to spare, it won’t ruin this city.”
‘A valiant speech King of Gondor but hope will not come for you.’ Perses said. The Leviathan reared itself back like it was ready to let out another strike, but instead of another attack, we took notice that the Deviants from before plus more started to sprout from its body.
Like on the very night the Deviants first came into being, they rained down like Hellfire. The spots where they landed exploded like fireworks bring up rubble and earth to blind us. There was so many of them that rained down, we all became overwhelmed and soon fell prey to their attacks.
Being bitten, clawed at and tossed around like toys amongst them. At this point they weren’t even trying to take the Celestial powers of my kin, they were acting like how cats toy with the mice and rats before finishing them off.
I saw how Aragorn had been thrown towards one of the wall of Gondor before being knocked out.
“ARAGORN!” Legolas cried out before he was tackled by a warg Deviant. Rolling along the ground as it’s jaws snapped rabidly as it tried to rip his face off.
“HELA! Sprite’s powers! It’s not working for me anymore!” Pippin called out as he tried to maintain some giant bear paws he had created but they kept shifting back into his normal hobbit hands.
“LADY HELA! YOUR BROTHER’S STRENGTH IS FAILING ME!” as Gimli tried to hold back two Deviants with his bare hands but they were close to devouring him. Haldir sliced one of the Deviant’s throats holding Gimli with Aeglos before stabbing the other one in the eye. “Those count as mine!”
How was this happening now? Why were the spirits of my kin failing my friends now of all times?!
‘Now you see their fate Hela.’ Perses voice hissed in my head. I turned up and glared at him with hatred. ‘You can’t save them all. Death is inevitable or has our lesson not sunken in yet? Death conquerors and it takes. Never discriminates. And it was you who brought Middle Earth it its knees.’
‘No. I maybe the Celestials of Death but I do not bring it to those whose time has not yet come!’ I shouted back at him.
‘You were never a hero to these people. It’s time for you to accept it. Join us. Imagine what your power could create for this world, what it could do in the hands of someone who understands you.’
“NOOOOO!” I roared out as I summoned my own magic and proceeded to take out any Deviant that came my way by twisting their necks or shooting out death spears at them. But even with my rage fueling my attacks, their numbers were just too much.
*Aragorn’s POV*
“….Agorn! Aragorn! The Celestial gems powers! They’re fading!” Legolas said. My eyes shot open as all that surrounded me was darkness and shadow and the snarling and snapping of teeth.
“They’re not backing down!” cried Gimli as he tried to use his axe on a wolf-bat Deviant only for it’s blade to be shattered once the attack struck.
“They’re everywhere!” exclaimed Merry.
“We’re surrounded!” Pippin followed up. The Deviants had us closed in and pinned. I stood back up as my hands glowed a faint blue as I shot out Ajak’s celestial magic toward them trying to push them back but all it did was briefly detour them before they snapped at me. I noticed how Merry and Pippin, Legolas and Gimli, Hela and Haldir were struggling as the power of the gems began to fade from those of us chosen to hold their powers.
But Hela’s power…..there was a blazing surge of power through her. Suddenly my vision went white as all around me went still and quiet. There was not a sound, not of the wind, not of my own breath, not even the sound of my heartbeat.
‘Out of all my children, each of them had potential for Great Power. But it was my Daughter of Death Hela that I chose in the end to become the last.’ Ajak’s voice spoke to me. I soon saw the same vision of all her brothers and sisters standing before Hela when Ajak gave her the Celestial gemstone for the very first time. ‘For she is what unites all of Middle Earth as One. The Deviants one weakness.’
The vision ended with Hela holding the gemstone but I saw upon her head a crown almost similar to what I now bore as Ajak’s host. But unlike mine it was thinner and more crown-like. An immense power surged through her as light from the gem shot out ending my vision.
I was now back with the others and that was the moment I knew what we must do.
*My POV*
“Everyone give Hela back your gemstones.” Aragorn’s voice soon spoke up through the battle.
“What?!” I exclaimed.
“Hela it’s all up to you now. Only you can defeat the Deviants once and for all.”
“Aragorn I thought the reason why we were accepted these powers was so we could help our Hela! And now you wish to abandon her at her utmost hour of need.” Gimli asked exasperatedly as he punched a Deviant so hard in the jaw, it crushed it inward.
“This isn’t abandoning her, this is helping her.”
“Aragorn you’re not making any sense.” Merry said as he used Druig’s telepathic powers to pushed back a warg-like Deviant away from him.
“All those years ago when you and the last of your kin defended the armies in War of the Last Alliance, you questioned why it had to be you and it wasn’t what you think now. Because Ajak knew, she knew all along that it was you Hela your gift that’ll defeat the Deviants. Because Death is a path that we all must take, no matter which way that may be.”
My eyes widened in fear. I shook my head and walked up to him gripping his arms as tightly as I could and jostled him about.
“You have officially lost your mind. If you surrender yourself now, I won’t be able to free you from their curse. Aragorn you’ve seen it with your own eyes! What you will become! I cannot…..I can’t lost another brother! Please don’t make me go through this again! Not again! Please! Please! Please! Please!” tears filled my eyes as I pleaded with him not to do this.
He cupped my cheek in his hand and pressed his forehead against mine comfortingly before I felt the sleek feel of Ajak’s gem in my hand. Her armor had now disappeared leaving Aragorn once again in his normal clothing.
“The Men of Middle Earth have faith in you Celestial of Death Hela.” He kissed my brow and slowly stepped back.
“Aragorn no!” Legolas called out but it was too late. With a solemn smile but a firm look in his eyes, Aragorn was struck by a Deviant’s stinger and right before our eyes he turned to stone just like my entire race did back during the 2nd Age. His hands pressed together much like my mother’s were when she too fell at the hands of the Deviant’s imprisonment curse.
We were all stunned and shocked. How could he do this!? The Future King throwing his life away for such a plan that was beyond any hope. Even if I were to finally put an end to the Deviants there’s not a guarantee that it’ll free anyone from their curse.
I felt two small hands take my right hand and I saw Merry holding my hand looking up at me with teary but strong filled eyes. Druig’s armor faded from him as he now bore a hobbit-sized armor of Rohan. And Pip had on his Gondor robes once more instead of Sprite’s Celestial armor. He too then handed me Sprite’s celestial stone and they both said to me.
“The Hobbits of the Shire have faith in you, Lady Hela Celestial of Death.” They then took each other’s hands and walked forward until they too were struck by the Deviant’s sting and they too became stone. The two of them holding onto each other much like Druig and Makkari now stood together.
No, no, no, no please not this again. My heart raced with anxiety as I was reliving those days of my siblings falling one by one to the Deviants. With all their power, even that wasn’t enough to escape the fate that befell them once they were caught with that dreaded stinger.
“Hela.” Gimli’s voice softly spoke up to me. I turned towards him and both he and Legolas held the gemstones of Gilgamesh and Cersei in their hands. They handed their stones to me and I shook my head at Legolas.
“I promised her. I promised…..”
“You kept that promise. As you told me long ago, I am my own ellon. I can make my own choice. Just as my mother did when she saved you. The Elves of the Greenwood have faith in you, Celestial of Death Hela.” He spoke to me softly before whispering in elvish.
“As does the Line of Durin. And we always will, Lady Hela. Celestial of Death.” Gimli spoke as he gave me a Dwarf’s respected bow. The two of them walked over and stood on their side of Aragorn either grabbing hold of his arm or shoulder in respect before turning to me. They too soon met the same fate as their bodies quickly became stone.
Rage and anger boiled up inside me as I used Kingo’s powers as well as my own to rip and slice through every Deviant that came my way.
“Haldir I’ll clear a path for you back to the city! Once you’re there, you hide! Don’t be a hero like before just run and hide!” Before I could race ahead to clear him a path, I felt a grip at my left wrist. I turned to see Haldir looking at me with eyes so soft, it was like looking at the stars once more.
The cold, harsh look that once hung there was now gone and the eyes of the man I loved had returned to me. He dropped Aeglos onto the ground and I shook my head.
“No, No, no, no, no, no not you! Not you too I couldn’t take it if I lost you! Haldir my love please don’t do this!” I felt something slip over my left wrist and he held the back of my head and pressed it just above his chest. I could hear his heart beat ringing in my ears and his arms around me in a light embrace.
“I see you, meleth nin.” He whispered in elvish. I gasped softly but his body soon became cold and hard and all I saw was his stone body just barely holding onto me so that he wouldn’t imprison me when he sacrificed himself for me.
I looked down at my left wrist and saw what he had placed back on after so long; the engagement bracelet he had made for me.
IATCOD Chapter 30; Cain the first Celestial of Starlight
*Author's note*
Yep the gift pretty much sums up what I've been going through with this story since it's been over a year and a half since the last update. But I am back and I've got two chapters for you guys to enjoy and then once I get through the next chapter, buckle up because you guys will be on the ultimate binge that hasn't happened since I first wrote these two stories :) But for now enjoy these next two chapters and hope my fellow loyal Celestial readers forgive me for the hiatus.
The shingles stood up at the back of his neck, his palms went clammy and his heart raced faster in his ears almost deafening the rest of the world. The Fellowship all looked around through the darkness trying to find just where the whistle was coming from exactly.
“Which one of them is it now?” growled Gimli as he pounded his fists together ready to fight.
“It’s Deimos.” Cain gravely said. The sound of Deimos’ sickles clanging together pierced the air, echoing through the entire courtyard until he suddenly appeared out of the shadows.
Like a Nazgul, he wore a cloak of black. His piercing red eyes sending a brief shiver through everyone’s spine. The blades of his sickles skid across the stone pavement as his eyes solely focused on Cain. A malicious smile was plasted across his face as he pushed his sickle blades forward which soon sent out a red magical barrier right towards Cain. Anyone near him got thrown backward as a pentagram shape formed underneath Cain’s feet and a thick red liquid started to form around him forcing him to sink.
“CAIN!!” his sister’s friends call out to him but Cain allowed himself to sink into the thick, red liquid without a fight.
“Mister Cain! MISTER CAIN! FIGHT BACK!!” Pippin cried out as he banged his fists against the barrier that blocked him from Hela’s brother. Cain kept his eyes focused in the general direction where Deimos stood and he heard the second Celestial of Death’s voice say in his head.
‘The time for play is over. Nergal was too arrogant in his play, I’m not so easily swayed like him.’ Soon Cain had fully sunk into the floor and Deimos morphed into a black shadow that flew at great speed right after him and soon the two of them disappeared and the barrier was immediately dropped. Pippin, Gimli, Legolas and Aragorn ran towards the spot where Cain had disappeared but saw no pentagram or red liquid anywhere.
It was as if Cain was here one moment and the next, he was gone. Pippin looked up to his friends and pleaded.
“Where did he take him?”
“I don’t know.” Aragorn shook his head bewildered.
“But we’ll find him laddie, don’t you worry.” Gimli assured the young hobbit.
Cain felt himself being torn apart, thrashed around and tossed about before finally feeling himself land on the cold, stone ground. He groaned as he tried to stand up but his limbs felt like lead.
“Cain.” A female voice softly called out to him. Cain’s heart nearly stopped as he knew that voice all too well. “Cain.”
“Y—Yvaine?”
“Yes my darling, it is I.” surrounding Cain appeared to be giant crystal stones and the stone in front of him shone the image of his deceased wife Yvaine. The woman he had given up his Celestial immortality for in order to have their family.
“It…..it cannot be.”
“Papa.” A young boy’s voice soon spoke up. Now Cain’s heart truly began to ache.
“Father!” another little boy’s voice proclaimed before a little girl’s said.
“Daddy, I’ve missed you.” Tears spilled down Cain’s face as he turned to each of the crystal stones.
“I—I’ve missed you too, my little starlight. I’ve missed all of you. I am so, so sorry.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for my darling.” Yvaine said.
“But I…..I let you all die. I wasn’t fast enough. Had I not given up my powers I would’ve…..I could’ve…..”
“It was like I had told you before when Hela allowed me to speak through her. You would’ve been killed alongside us. Not even the greatest of your kin could defeat a Balrog single-handedly.”
“You were a hero father.” His first born, Icarus said to him.
“You’re still our hero, papa.” His second son Aldon praised.
“We love you daddy.” His only daughter, Aredhel spoke lovingly.
“I love you too. I love all of you.”
“How sentimental.” Deimos’ voice mocked. Cain’s love and heartache soon turned back to rage as he stood up and turned towards the second Celestial of Death. “Children always praise their fathers to be something bigger than they are.” Deimos mocked nonchalantly as he circled around each stone crystal before stopping at his second born son’s crystal and destroyed it with his sickle.
The crystal burst into thousands of shards and Cain had lost the spiritual essence of his second born son.
“Sorry to crash this touching family reunion, or should I say your biggest regret.”
“My family is not a regret! I would gladly choose Yvaine and my children a thousand times over if I were given the chance to start all over again.” Deimos not stood behind Cain’s daughter’s crystal and pushed it over. Her voice crying out ‘daddy’ one last time before being silenced.
“Even if you were forced to relive their deaths over and over again. Because that is how it should always be.” Deimos held up one of his sickles close to him and emphasized his last point as he glide his nail across the tip of his sickle blade which held a drawing of Cain’s family, “Unbiased, irreversible, and final.” Deimos disappeared back into the shadows as his voice echoed around Cain. “But you were given a second chance. Because Cain the Wrathful had a destiny to help his Sister of Death, right? But Hela is nothing compared to me.”
“Nergal was Pestilence, Perses is Conquest, which makes you—”
“Death.” Deimos’ voice hissed right in Cain’s ear. He jumped back wielding out his weapons but feeling that cold blanket of fear at the mention of Death overcome him. “And I don’t mean it metaphorically, or rhetorically, or poetically, or theoretically or in any other fancy way. I’m Death as it should be. And with that weakling Hela gone, my first target is you Cain the Wrathful.”
“Hela was never biased. She kept to Mandos law and Lady Nienna’s order.” Deimos chuckled darkly as he continued to pace in front of Cain.
“See that’s where she’s such a hypocrite. She had the gall to claim Nergal of Necromancy when she herself performs it every day. Allowing the spirits of the dead to speak to their families that are amongst the living through her own body. But no, no, that’s not the problem the real problem is that when she met you. She should’ve believed that the very idea of resurrection and second chances from the Valar to be absurd! Especially when you,” he pointed one of his sickles at Cain “Didn’t value what you were given. So why don’t I do us both a favor, and do what she failed to do and take your life now.”
“You’ll never beat my father!” Icarus yelled. Deimos’ sickle landed straight at Icarus’ forehead and as it began to crack, Deimos mocked.
“Shhh, let your father and uncle talk son.” Soon Icarus’ crystal stone was obliterated.
“Don’t let him get to you Cain! Show him who you are!” Yvaine cried out as Deimos’ other sickle destroyed her crystal stone. Cain soon felt himself sinking once more and this time he could smell the scent of decaying bodies of man, orc and horses alike. From the rubble he felt at his palms and the sound of banners of man and orc alike, he deducted that he must be in the runes of Osgiliath.
“Figure a battle such as ours deserves a grand stage. So why not the last remaining settlement of Man itself?” Deimos voice came from behind as he stood upon the ruined rubble of a pillar that was once the great Watchtower now completely destroyed from the Nazgul attacks on the city.
“As long as there is still breath left in me, I swear on Varda herself and on my sister Hela’s soul, I will end your reign of terror Deimos the Executioner.” Deimos smirked wickedly and gripped his sickles tighter before saying.
“Then this is going to be fun.” He then hopped down from the remains of the Watchtower of Osgiliath and landed on his feet with a thunderous rumble before immediately charging straight for Cain and Cain didn’t hesitate to charge forward as well, honing into Deimos’ scent, heartbeat and the sound of his feet for the two of them to leap up and first clash weapons with each other before sliding across the rubble.
Deimos then charged at Cain one more time but this time tried to slice his sickle across Cain’s face but the Blind Celestial managed to duck back before landing a hard punch to Deimos gut. Taking this advantage, he managed a couple of more punches to his face before Deimos sliced his shoulder forcing him to retreat back. Cain let a growl before their weapons collided once more, sparks actually began flying off between their weapons as the two were practically evenly matched with each other in speed, weapons, and skill.
When Cain managed to get the upper hand by flipping over Deimos and throwing a small dagger at the Celestial of Death’s shoulder, Deimos took the knee but his face expressed pure pleasure as he took the dagger out of his shoulder like it was merely a thorn.
“All this fancy footwork for a small dagger.” He then put together the two ends of his sickles and they now morphed into a double-sickle staff. He spun it around before charging at Cain. Quickly changing his tactic, Cain was now more on the offense than trying to attack Deimos and by doing so, it gave Deimos the advantage that he needed to take the exiled Celestial down.
As one end of his sickle bow staff clashed with Cain’s blade, he then revealed a hidden blade underneath his sleeve and threw it down to Cain’s foot making him scream before Deimos got him off balance with two slashes to the chest and side respectfully. As Cain fell to the ground panting and bleeding heavily Deimos clicked his tongue.
“Now I’m beginning to see why it was so easy to take down Hela.” Cain growled as he narrowed his eyes.
“You’d think being a Celestial of Death, you’d know what she had been taught. It’s not being the fastest or the strongest fighter, it’s about whose smarter.” Cain then took out a small bit of charcoal but when he threw it down to the ground, the entire runes of Osgiliath were covered in a shroud of dark smoke.
Deimos gasped before growling as he had now lost his target. His red eyes scanned through the thick cloud of smoke but he couldn’t see a trace of Cain anywhere. Suddenly from behind, something struck him. He was forced to take the knee as he felt something hit him in the back of his shoulder blade but he had no time to recover when he felt the same weapon hit him again, this time in his left hip.
Using his centuries of training in the shadows and the Rouge assassin in the South, Cain was able to maneuver through the darkness on pure adrenaline as he used his steel clubs and tossed them at Deimos’ weak spots throughout his entire body. If he was going to bring this Celestial down, he’d have to do it one pressure point at a time. His clubs would hit Deimos at any of his pressure points and then ricochet off one of the rubble runes back towards Cain.
Deimos growled impatiently before slamming his staff down to the ground, causing a large gust of wind to blow the shadows away but by that time, Cain had hidden himself underneath some rubble waiting to make his next attack.
“You’re really not making this any easier for yourself. But if you wish to play this way, there are other targets I can take who escaped Death’s judgement. Faramir for one, that boy’s been a pain in my side ever since our arrival. Or there’s always that woman who killed Angmar, or that Halfling.”
Cain’s heartbeat accelerated as his thoughts went back to Merry.
“Yes……the halfling who allowed the woman to kill with Witch King. What was his name? Oh yeah…..Meriadoc Brandybuck.” Deimos’ tone was sly and seductive as he spoke.
“NOO!!” Cain jumped out from his hiding spot and in blind rage attacked Deimos. His attacks now sloppy as he blindly swung with no real intention other than the boiling rage that now fueled his body. He couldn’t lose Merry, he refused to.
But Deimos played and toyed with Cain. Allowing him to get in a few hits but they had no real effect on him like they did earlier. Most of the time he just leaned back avoiding the exiled Celestial’s blades before taking his sickles and catching his blade between his before finally stabbing him through the gut.
Cain choked as he could feel blood coming up his throat and his body went still. Deimos’ malicious grin widened as he cupped Cain’s face, their noses slightly touching before he callously withdrew his sickle from Cain’s body, gutting him and Cain collapsed to the ground.
“Cain!?” Aragorn’s voice called out.
“MASTER CAIN!!” Gimli called out. Deimos smirked and said.
“Left the city defenseless. Some King he’ll turn out to be.” Deimos then vanished into thin air.
“Lord Cain!” Legolas called out.
“Cain where are you laddie!?” Gimli called out. Aragorn soon felt a pulse within his gemstone that now rested at the mantle crown he wore and he was pulled into one direction until he came to a gruesome sight.
“GIMLI! LEGOLAS! OVER HERE!” Aragorn raced up and knelt down beside the fallen Celestial who lay there in a pool of his own blood.
“Ara—Aragorn.”
“Be still my friend.” He placed his hand over Cain’s injury and they glowed a soft blue as Ajax’s healing powers started to take effect. Soon Legolas and Gimli arrived and they were shocked to see Cain in such a condition.
“Durin’s beard.” Gimli muttered in shock. Aragorn kept his focus on Cain as Cain blindly reached out before grabbing hold of Aragorn’s arm.
“Merry…..” he choked out. “He’s going for Merry.”
“Haldir and Pippin are guarding them. Just keep still, this is an injury I’ve only seen on wild game.”
“Aragorn.” Legolas came up to Aragorn and in his palm he held the Starlight Celestial gemstone. Aragorn looked between the stone and Cain and said.
“Would it even help him in his condition?”
“Not to mention he was exiled. His own kinsman cursed his name.” Gimli muttered.
“The stone calls to him. Cersei has told me. You know as well as I do that it is time.” Aragorn knew deep down inside, even when Gandalf had given it to him before the three of them came down to find and assist Cain, that Cain would have to reclaim his Celestial Power.
Ajax herself even spoke in his mind that it was time for the rebirth of her firstborn Celestial of Starlight to become whole. However in the end it was all Cain’s decision, to which he’s stated repetitively that he wasn’t worthy of becoming a full Celestial once again.
However with Cain’s injuries, he didn’t think that even with the power of the Celestial of Life’s healing powers, Cain wouldn’t be the same. He turned back towards Cain, who was still heavily breathing and blood slowly seeped past his lips.
“Cain, you say that you aren’t worthy of being a Celestial again, but this maybe the only chance to save your life.” Aragorn took the stone from Legolas’ hand and held it over Cain’s body. “Give me a sign that you want this.” Aragorn felt as Cain’s hand that still gripped his shoulder slid down his arm and grip his hand that held his gemstone.
“Do…..it.”
“Legolas, Gimli, hold him down.” The elf and dwarf Celestials came forward and held Cain down by his shoulders as Aragorn took the Starlight gemstone and touched it over Cain’s wound. The former Celestial’s veins began to shine through his skin as he felt his entire insides being burned from the inside out.
He writhed in agony as Aragorn kept the stone touching his bare side. Legolas and Gimli firmly held Cain down even as he’d try to fight his way out of their grip, but with their enhanced Celestial strength they were able to hold strong and keep Cain pinned to the ground.
Red lightning began to flash through the sky striking the ground near them almost as if it could sense the power of Starlight within it.
“I hope this works for all our sakes.” Gimli muttered. Cain then let out one last, primal, agonizing scream as his body now shot out a pure white light and lightning struck down from the heavens.
Haldir and Pippin had just arrived to see that both Merry and Hela remained just as they were the last time anyone had seen them.
“I hope Merry and Druig are close to bringing Hela back.” Haldir swallowed thickly as he looked down at the woman he loved and prayed that she’d come back as everyone was saying she would.
“It won’t even matter in the end,” Deimos voice soon spoke up and Haldir and Pippin quickly turned around as out of the darkness two red eyes gleamed from the shadows. “They’ll be too dead to do anything about it.” He stepped out of the shadows.
“If you want them, you’ll have to go through us first Deimos.” Pippin warned him.
“Oh don’t think I’m not gonna forget about you. After all, you were the one who stopped Faramir’s burning. Had it not been for you, the pebble in my boot would’ve finally been taken out.” He then turned his attention to Haldir and continued, “then once I’m done with everyone else, I think I’ll enjoy gutting out just like I did her brother.”
“You…..you didn’t!” Haldir snarled. Deimos merely grinned maliciously as Haldir stepped up first using Aeglos to strike Deimos but using his sickles he caught the Elvish blade midway stopping Haldir’s attack short.
“Getting to know you Haldir of Lorien, it seems the best way to thoroughly destroy you is to mention the mere descriptions of what I plan to do to everyone you care about. Nergal was right, love is indeed a sickness.”
He pushed Haldir off his balance before pinning him down by piercing his arm with one of his sickles. Haldir cried in agony as Deimos smelled the air lustfully.
“I just love the smell of agonized pain. It’s intoxicating.” Suddenly he was shot towards the other end of the tower by a dragon fire blast and when he looked up, he had seen Pippin with his hand extended outward, the smoke emitting from his palm. “Just because you borrow the Illusional Celestials power, doesn’t make you one of them.”
“Then what does that make you? Faramir told us how there were war prisoners. You weren’t born a Celestial.”
“You’re right. Because I’m better than Hela herself. Stronger, powerful, and unafraid. Unlike you,” with inhuman speed, Pippin was grabbed by the throat and pinned to the wall by Deimos. “You’ve been afraid of me ever since your arrival here. And along with pain, fear is just as intoxicating. For Death should be feared, not praised.”
Suddenly Deimos was struck by a powerful ray of starlight sending him across the room once again. The sting from the powerful light pierced his back but before he had time to recover, someone tackled him out of the tower and threw him towards the mountains above the city. Deimos groaned as he cracked his neck.
“Seems I’m able to get Death on his knees without any fear. And I’ve been known to be just that for centuries. The Celestial without Fear.” A bright glow shone above him and as it dimmed, Deimos saw Cain the firstborn Starlight Celestial.
At long last, he wore his Celestial of Starlight armor. His eyes glowed from a soft pale moon light to a piercing golden light like the sun. His body also shimmered like a blazing star as he glared Deimos down. The Celestial of Death wiped the corner of his mouth to reveal a drop of blood.
“You should’ve chosen to accept death like you once did before. Then at least you could’ve been called a hero. But like a cockroach, you just won’t stay dead!”
“Takes a roach to know a roach. Like Pippin said, you chose to accept power that didn’t belong to you.” He then flew down towards Deimos and held him by the throat before throwing him straight towards the ground. Like a comet, Deimos’ body created a crater-like path from the foot of the white city all the way before he felt a powerful beam of light strike him down and engulf him.
A fire unlike anything he had ever experienced before burned him from the inside out before it stopped. But just as he tried to pick himself back up, he felt the fire once again. Again and again and again the flames of Starlights engulfed him as Deimos screamed in agony. The falling like a shooting star, Cain’s entire body glowed brightly, almost as if he were engulfed in flames of Starlight as he flew straight down towards Deimos before slamming right into him creating a large and powerful explosion of Starlight.
The ground rumbled as everyone felt the power of the first Celestial of Starlight. As the smoke and burst of light faded, Cain could be seen flying upward in his Starlight form. Gandalf and Faramir turned to each other and Gandalf told him.
“The Starlight’s rein of Starlight fire. Their most powerful attack. Only Cain ever performed this terrifying yet beautiful attack. He forbad any of his Starlight siblings from following in his footsteps.”
“I’ve never seen such raw power before in my life. Is this why he was known as the Celestial without fear?”
“Yes. He never questioned performing the most dangerous of Celestial attacks to the most dangerous of enemies.”
Cain hovered in the air as he tilted his head trying to get a read on Deimos’ heartbeat. It was still there and he could sense that the power coursing through his veins was barely able to keep him alive. The Celestial power was starting to eat at his very soul, burning it out.
Deimos groaned as he slowly and grudgingly pulled himself out of the hole glaring pure hatred at Cain. Blood seeped from his mouth and forehead, his skin burned and charred as he stood up sluggishly, moaning exhaustedly and choking out his heavy pants. Cain levitated back to the ground and taunted.
“Still got some fight in you Celestial of Death?”
“I’m just getting started.” Deimos gripped his sickles tightly and charged head on to Cain but before he could make the first strike, his arm was stopped by red Celestial magic. Deimos grunted in shock as he tried to move his arm but it couldn’t move. Soon his entire body began to glow as he was forced to drop his sickles and he was forced onto his knees before Cain.
Grunting and growling as he tried to break free of his magical bonds but the magic was too strong for him to break.
“It’s time you accepted your fate Deimos the Executioner, or should I call you Reuel son of Meuel of Gondor.” A female voice spoke. Everyone froze and soon coming down in the fields was Hela and Merry fully sporting Druig’s Celestial armor. His hands glowing red with Druig’s magic as he was the one who had Deimos pinned. Along with them were Haldir and Pippin who each held their weapons.
Haldir held Aeglos while Pippin held chains that had been used repetitively to try and bound Hela throughout this quest and now Pippin raced over and quickly tied Deimos with those very chains. Shackling his wrists and ankles.
“Now who’s the one with fear in his eyes?” Pippin mocked as he tightened the chains around Deimos’ body fully bounding him before touching them to have the magic within them activate and allow Merry to drop his hold of Deimos.
The once proud Celestial of Execution was nothing more than a chain and bound up animal trying to break free of his bonds.
this is going to be long and probably kinda cringe but i am cringe and free
i've been re-reading your queen fics for going on 6 years now after i found them on wattpad i think right after the pandemic really started to get bad, and getting excited over updates, and rereading the stuff i already loved made the whole thing bearable for me. (i'm also pretty sure one of your hallowqueen fics is why i'm on tumblr in the first place)
i remember finally getting to read the ending of rock angel for the first time, and just crying my eyes out at the end, because it was such a ride, and then immediately going back and starting it from the beginning because then it doesn't have to end
tl;dr i really appreciate your old queen/borhap fics, and i wish you all the best wherever your muse may lead you
I appreciate the lover and praise. Yeah the Rock Angel series was my baby much like the Bad Wolf series was and I'm proud of both of those pieces of work. Lately my muse has been lacking as of late so reading this message brightened me up! Thanks dearie
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Should We Stay or Should We Go? || Chapter Fourteen
-A ST Rewrite Feat. Steve Harrington x Henderson!OFC-
Main Masterlist || Series Masterlist
🎲Summary: Will’s connection to a shadowy evil grows stronger, but no one is quite sure how to stop it, especially now that someone else is acting strange. Elsewhere, Dustin, Steph, Eddie and Steve forge an unlikely bond to stop Dart… with with some unexpected company.
🎲Pairings: Will x Platonic!OFC; Dustin x Sister!OC; Slow burn! Steve x Henderson!OFC (Ex-bestfriends to Lovers); Eddie x Platonic!OFC; Slow burn! Byler
🎲Rating: Teen-Mature
🎲Word Count: 18,718 (A treat for y'all)
🎲Date: 3/22/26
🎲Warnings: Heavy Angst, Language & Dialogue; Mental Strain/Breaking Down; Talks of Dying & Being Brought Back; Lying; Minor Blood; Mentioning of Scars; Mention of Killing/Burning; Implied Possession; Bullying; Child & Physical Abuse; Racist & Vulgar Comments; Will & Steph Deserves A Nice Vacation; Steve Being An MVP again. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK
(And let me know if I missed anything)
🎲A/N: Happy 2nd Anniversary of this story! We're only have a 3 chapters & an epilogue left until season 2 is complete. I'm so excited for the next chapter (Hint, Hint: We're getting flashbacks about a certain couple😜). Anyway, sorry for the long wait. Enjoy!
(Side note: I've Beta this once! But I'll reread and correct any mistakes later :)
Will’s animalistic screams echoed across the hallways. His mother trails behind the gurney as the doctors of Hawkins Lab rapidly wheeled him to a prepared room.
“God! Hold on, sweetie!” Joyce tells him as he begins sobbing hard, his heavy breathing fogging up his oxygen mask. “I’m right here. Just hold on.”
He cries out again as they finally make it to the room, doctors immediately hooking him up to the machines while Bob holds Joyce back; Mike silently watches from the side.
“Vitals?” The lead doctor asks, while checking his pupils.
“Heart rate 220. Temperature’s 106.”
“Will, where does it hurt?”
He groans, and tries curling in on himself, but she stops him. “All over!”
“She says he feels like he’s burning.” Dr. Owen says upon entering, referring to Joyce.
“Check for burns.” The lead says, as they start cutting open his shirt. That action alone causes him to cry out again.
“I don’t see anything.”
“Where does it hurt the most, Will?”
“Everywhere!!!” He screams, head starting to thrash. “Everywhere!”
“Oh, God–” Joyce choked, as Bob held her tighter. “Will.”
“It hurts!!! Make it stop!” The lead doctor holds his arm out. “Make it stop!!” The needle goes into the vein. “Make it– make it… s-stop…” One last tear rolls down his cheek just before his body goes limp.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Stephanie’s eyes remained on Steve’s BMW for a while as they drove, before breaking off to take another glance at her designated driver as they got a head start on their monster hunt. Her poor friend had the same look of disbelief on his face since she told him everything about how her and Will got kidnapped, to the monsters they faced, to how they got rescued. And on top of that expression, he hasn’t said a single word. Although, that’s on him a bit. He wanted to know. He agreed to jump into the chaos despite all her warnings, and this was the end result.
After a couple minutes of staring, she finally decided to break the tension. “Eddie?” Steph begins, cutting through his soft rock cassette. He hums quietly as a reply. “You doing alright?”
“Y-Yeah.” He nods, voice shaking a tad. He tries clearing his throat to make him sound more confident (Spoiler, it didn’t work). “I’m great.”
She raises an eyebrow at his tone. She knew him well enough to know what he was thinking. “Did I break you?”
“N-No.” Eddie shakes his head sporadically. “No! No, no, no, no. No.”
Steph sighs. She had a feeling this was going to happen. Despite him liking the whole ‘monster universe’ -- like D&D and the movie ‘Alien’ -- and singing heavy metal covers about death and darkness, he was overall a very soft guy (Don’t tell anyone that! You’ll “ruin” his rep). He’s not exactly made to be dealing with this other world type crap.
“Sure you want to come along?” She asks him again. “‘Cause you can drop me off and leave, you just have to keep your mouth shut.”
“No, no! I-I want to come.” Eddie cuts in, frantically. “I want to help you. I really do. I just…”
“Seeing is believing. I know. I get it. Hopefully you don’t see it, ‘cause it’s gross looking, but if you do, prepare yourself. It’ll be embedded into your brain.”
“Yeah.” He exhales loudly. “Yeah. Okay.”
She flashes him a soft smile, reaching over to pat him reassuringly on the arm. “I do appreciate you coming though.”
He copies her expression. “Anytime, Ranger.”
.
.
“Why do you keep looking back at them?” Dustin asks, as he catches his driver’s gaze into his rear view mirror again.
Steve shrugs it off. “I’m just… making sure they’re still following.”
He squinted his eyes, suspicious. “Are you?”
“Y-Yes! Henderson, I am. I’m just–” The teenager sighs. “They’re being very animated, that’s all.”
“That’s your concern?” Dustin said, taking a glance back towards the van. The older boy’s reasoning makes no sense to him. “Steve?”
“What?” Steve said, defensively. “Can I not have a concern?”
“No, you can, I just– wait.” Dustin narrows his eyes again. “Steve?”
“What?”
“Are you jealous that my sister found a new male friend?”
Steve scoffs (too quickly for Dustin’s liking). “Me? Jealous? Never. I would never be jealous like that.” He replies, and totally tries to shove the memory down for the other day of Stephanie accusing him of the same thing. Damn these Hendersons for thinking alike.
Dustin stays silent for a second, studying his driver before stabbing him with the big question. “Soooooo… Then it’s a different type of jealousy?”
Steve almost brake checked at that. His eyes widened with disbelief. “What?”
“I’m just saying! I mean, what else could it be?” Dustin says, as the teenager mutters something he couldn’t hear. “Come on. We’ve known each other as long as you and my sister have been acquainted. You think I wouldn’t notice certain things?”
“Jesus, dude…” Steve couldn’t even believe their conversation ended up here. I mean, he’s wrapped in a ‘big boy’ conversation with a thirteen year old! He didn’t think this could get any more awkward, or worse, until the middle schooler threw this at him–
“Are you sure Nancy would be okay with that?”
Steve’s hands grip the steering wheel a bit tighter. “Nancy and I… are no longer together.”
“Oh.” The boy’s face falls and looks away in shame. “I’m sorry.”
“Nah, It’s fine. It’s…” Another heavy sigh. “I kind of had a feeling it wouldn’t work out. I don’t think it was ever going to work out.”
His love life really was the last thing he needed to worry about (Although he does need to resolve some issues eventually); Right now his main priority was to find his pseudo-sister, Eleven. But after staying up for two nights in a row, and only getting a fifteen minute power nap in, he’s mentally exhausted. He still needs to check on Hopper, because part of him fears that maybe the lab or some other evil geniuses took them both. But there was one problem… how would he even confirm that theory? He’s unfortunately been wrapped up in helping the Hendersons get rid of their pest problem. As much as he would love to tell the group about his own problem, he’s made a vow of secrecy to Hopper until they can reassure El’s safety.
Maybe… maybe Hopper’s actually looking for her. Maybe that’s why I can’t get a hold of him. Steve’s heart clenches at the thought, a lump building in his throat. I can only assume that right now. I just need to worry about finishing this quickly and then finding them.
“Steve?” Dustin’s voice cuts through. “You okay?”
“Y-Yeah.” He shakes his head. “Sorry. Got a lot on my mind.”
They eventually pull into the parking lot of the local convenience store, the perfect store that had little bit of everything they needed to make their Demogorgon trap. The four of them followed their ring leader in this to the deli section, which was Stephanie since she took down one of these monsters before.
“Um, so which one are we getting?” Eddie asks, as they all stare at the wide selection of red meat.
“Just get the cheap shit. It’s not like we’re cooking it.” Dustin says, making him shrug.
“Say no more.”
They start piling the shopping cart half full of the cheapest cut before moving on. Stephanie looks at her list, humming. “Alright, we should split up to cover more time. Eddie, go ahead and start on what we talked about in the van. Dusty, you should get–”
“What a surprise seeing you two here.”
The quartet all froze up at the voice, but only Eddie and Steph recognized it. They all turned around, trying to hide their nerves.
“Mr. Gunn.” Steph said, forcing a smile at Jeff’s dad, aka, the owner of the store. “What a surprise too. I-I thought you and your wife were still on your trip?”
“Oh, we just got back last night. We decided to come home early.” He replies, reliving the good time. “I honestly think Nicole was missing the boys.”
“Of course.” She lightly laughs. “Who wouldn’t want to be around Jeff and little Joshua?”
He nods in agreement, before his eyes trail to their cart. “What’s with all the meat?” He asks, as the teenagers felt themselves sweat at the comment.
The elders spared a subtle glance at each other before blurting out, “Barbaque.”
“Bar Mitzvah.” Dustin croaks, making Steve and Eddie look at him in horror, and his sister ready to kill him.
Mr. Gunn looked between the Hendersons before looking at his son’s friend. “I didn’t know you were Jewish.”
“Yep.” Steph forced out; Her fake smile returned. “Just… never really had a time to bring it up.” She chuckles again before grabbing her brother by the shoulders, giving it a (rough) squeeze. “Yeah, so… my baby brother here’s becoming a man, finally. I’m so proud of him.”
“I can see that. I mean, I knew he was your younger brother, but you’re more closer in age than I thought.”
“I know, right? He’s gonna be fifteen and he’s still got this cute–” She pinches his cheek (hard). “Baby face.” She sighs. “He’s gonna look young forever.”
“Hey, that’s necessarily not a bad thing. It may suck now, but when you’re my age, it’s a blessing.”
“Exactly. That’s what my mom always says.”
“Well, congrats, young man. I’ll let you guys get back into it.” The man slips away, off to greet more of his customers. As soon as he was out of ear shot, the glares were back on the middle schooler.
“Bar Mitzvah?” Stephanie said.
“Dude, why did you even say that?” Steve takes a jab as the kid waves his hands around apologetically.
“Sorry! I got distracted by the new Fantastic Four comics!” Dustin points to the table filled with magazines and comic books for sale. “Isn’t Ben Grimm’s Jewish?”
As his sister and Steve ganged up on how his mind was like a gnat sometimes, Eddie had happily skipped over to his other true love, and started checking out the comic. After briefly looking it over the cover, he perked up.
“Huh.” He flips the cover over for them to see the new design of Johnny Storm. “He kind of looks like me.”
Both Steph and Steve tilt their head in unison, face scrunching up as they take in the comparison. “I don’t see it.” They reply in unison, and then send each other a strange side eye.
“Mmm, kinda.” Dustin said, with a shrug.
“Kinda?” His sister asks, confused; ignoring the fact that she and Steve were still on the same wavelength (Just like the old days, huh? Great).
“They have the same nose.”
She pinches her own nose. “Oh, my god…”
“Thank you, other Henderson.” Eddie replies, happily. “At least someone appreciates me.”
“Alright!” She says, silencing everyone. “Enough distractions. Everyone has their tasks. Let’s complete it.”
“Uh, Steph?” He raises his hand like they’re in class. “About the guns. I don’t think I’ll be able to get them.”
“Why not, Munson?” Steve asks, snappier than intended, while his hands were on his hips.
“‘Cause, you know my reputation with the law is… tedious. As much as he loves me, I don’t think Mr. Gunn would let me get one.”
Steve was not at all surprised by that reply. “Really–”
Stephanie lets out a sigh. “Okay. Fine. Get us alcohol then.”
“Alcohol?” Her friend asks.
“Yes. The highest concentrated ones you can. Lots of it. You know your brands. I trust you.”
Steve looks her way, concerned. “But the law changed in July. He can’t get–”
“He has a fake ID.” She explains, briefly making eye contact with him before moving back to Munson. “I’ll give you money if you need some. Just go get it.”
“Alright, alright. I will.” Eddie said, and started heading to the alcohol section.
“Phanie, what can I do?” Dustin asks, as she looks over the list.
“Rubber gloves, buckets. Stuff like that.” She replies, making him shake his head and leave.
“And… us?” Steve asks, slightly holding out hope that maybe they can finally have another word with each other that doesn’t involve a fight or her brother being in the middle of it. But she frankly wasn’t having it, or better yet, she wasn’t ready for this step to happen so soon.
The girl shoves the list into his chest, moving away. “Just get whatever else remains. Meet you at the checkout.”
.
.
It didn’t take long for all of them to meet back up with everything they bought, a cart full of bags with a lot of weird looks from the cashier -- Luckily no questions were asked, and luckily Mr. Gunn was preoccupied. Oh, and Eddie’s fake ID worked like a charm. Hooray! They start wheeling the shopping cart back to their vehicles, before something catches Stephanie’s eye.
She slows her pace as she looks at the advertisement on the store next door. She felt her stomach drop because of her stupidity. How could I forget about that?!
“What is your favorite song?” She says, as the boys all look at her weirdly.
“I’m sorry?” Steve said, confused.
“You’re favorite song. What is it? At this very moment?” They continued to stare at her like she was an alien, making her sigh for the millionth time today. “Humor me for a moment, please.”
“Uh, The… ‘The Trooper’.” Eddie replies.
“‘Dancing Queen’.” Steve goes next.
“‘Stayin’ Alive’.” Dustin finishes.
“Okay, Okay.” She nods, taking the answers in. “Eds, do you have that cassette in your van?”
“I do.”
“Okay. Good, um, Steve, do you have the ABBA cassette?”
“Not on me.”
“Alright. I’ll have to get that. And Dusty’s. Okay.” She nods again. “I’ll be right back.” She takes off again, leaving them dumbfounded.
“Stephanie? Where are you going?” Steve asks.
“I’ll be right back!” She shouts, and heads into the store.
He slouches, brows still pushed together. “...Okay?”
“Dancing Queen? Stayin’ Alive?” Eddie asks the two as they shrug.
“Hey, it’s a good dance song.” Dustin defends. “They both are.”
“Yeah, exactly. Don’t be a hater, Munson.” Steve adds, as the metal head shakes his noggin and continues to his van with the cart.
“Whatever.”
By the time they loaded both their vehicles, the girl came back with a bag and a serious look in her eye. She starts pulling out a walkman for each of them, handing them over along with their requested cassette -- she even bought herself a new one since, you know, hers mysteriously caught on fire the other day.
“What’s all this about?” Steve asks, not sure what to make of this.
“Listen, this is gonna sound a bit strange, but just bear with me. Alright?” She waits until she’s got their undivided attention. “Okay. When Will and I were in the Upside Down, we discovered that listening to our favorite song had some… protecting effects. Still don’t know the whole science or reasoning behind it, but it worked. Saved both our asses a few times when we needed it.”
Eddie’s eyes widened with a realization. “That’s why you’ve been listening to Journey so much these last few weeks.” Now that all made sense. No wonder she’s been glued to her walkman during this rough time. “I just thought you had an ear worm.”
“Could it be something with the dopamine in our brain?” Dustin asks, his nerdy mind working hard to crack the mystery behind this.
“Maybe. I know that was something I did think of actually. But who knows.” His sister replies.
“Fascinating.”
“Anything we need to look out for?” Steve asks, concernedly.
“If you feel… off. Or have a headache, a nosebleed. Play your song, only your favorite song.” Steph says. “I don’t know what this is, and I don’t know if it’s gonna come after you guys too, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.” She doesn’t know what she’s going to do if any of them end up like her. “Everyone ready?”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Once everything had settled down, Joyce was escorted to a room with Doctor Owens and other specialists, where she began to tell them everything -- The weird drawings, the nightmares, to the strange things he’s been saying. She made sure not to leave out a single detail.
“-That thing, it… it did something to him.” That was a given, the only problem is she doesn’t know what. And as a mother that terrifies her.
Dr. Owens sighs, holding onto every word. “Okay. And these ‘now-memories’, as you call them, how long has he been experiencing them?”
“I told you, it started just a few days ago. Since I found him in the field.”
“And why wasn’t he brought in?” Another doctor asked.
Joyce scoffs. “Seriously? For starters, I didn’t think I needed to. But most importantly, I wasn’t going to bring my son to the place that started this whole Upside Down bullshit!”
“I understand the hate for the place, and I understand why you’re upset, okay? I get it. I would be, too, if I were in your shoes.” Owens says, as he’s met with her cold stare. “But we are all in the same boat here, and I just need you to try–”
“Wait? Stay calm? Trust you? Hell, no. I want him transferred to a real hospital.”
“Well, you know that’s not possible.”
“He really will get the best treatment here, Ms. Byers.” Another doctor chimes in.
“The very best.” Another one adds.
She finds herself scoffing again. “Are you fucking serious? The same people w-who used children for their own sick experiments.”
Dr. Owens looks a tad offended by her comment. “Ms. Byers, you know we’re a completely new organization. We don’t do that kind of thing here anymore.”
“Then what exactly are you doing now? Huh? What are you fucking do back here in Hawkins?” Joyce asks, as they all look away. “And what are you treating him for, exactly? Can anyone tell me what’s wrong with him?” She gets to her feet, hands smacking loudly against the table top. “Can a single person in this room tell me what is wrong with my boy? What is wrong with my boy?!”
But when no one could even mutter an answer, Joyce stormed out of the room, slamming the door with such force that it rattled the room.
“Un-fucking-believable.” Was the last thing any of them heard before they sat in a long uncomfortable silence.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Lucas bursts open his little sister’s door to find exactly what he thought she was doing with his He-Man action figure. “I knew it.” He scowls, prying it away from the Barbie doll she was making his figure make out with.
“Hey!” Erica says, sending him a dirty look as he retreats back to the door. “They’re in love!”
“No, actually, they’re not.” He replies, stopping to face her. “They don’t even exist on the same planet.”
She raises a brow. “Aren’t you too old to be playing with toys?”
Oof. That was a jab at his ego. One he tries to ignore. “That... that’s not the point. The point is to stay out of my room.” He adds, and leaves.
“Then tell your little nerdy friend to shut his mouth.”
Lucas pauses, and then backs up. He was pretty pissed that none of his friends were at school yesterday to back him up while he tries to explain everything to Max, that he didn’t even put two-and-two together. Was there another reason why they weren’t at school other than being annoyed with one another? “What are you talking about?
“‘Code red, Lucas. Code red. Code red’.” Erica mocks as she rolls her eyes. “Bunch of nerds.”
Lucas’ heart sinks when he recalls their last conversation about Dart. “Oh, no…” He whispers and bolts out of the room.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
“You know, I always forget about the junk yard.” Eddie says, once they arrived at the train tracks.
“Not missing much, Munson.” Steph said, as she opened the van’s back doors. “But, who knows, depending on how things go with the Demo, might make a sick album cover.”
“I knew I should’ve brought my sketchbook.” He half-jokes as she laughs. It was enough to get a certain someone’s attention a few feet away.
Dustin’s eyes darted between his sister and his older friend who was making the same expression he was earlier in the car. He almost scoffs out loud. Not jealous, my ass, Steve.
He was about to call him out on it when his headset got some feedback.
[ ‘Dustin! This is Lucas. Do you copy?’ ]
Dustin perks up at the voice, quickly looking around to see the light on walkie flashing.
[ ‘Dustin?’ ]
“Well, well, well, look who it is.” He answers, slightly irritated.
[ ‘Sorry, man. My stupid sister turned it off.’ ]
“Well, when you were having sister problems, Dart grew again, he escaped, and my sister confirmed he’s a baby Demogorgon.” He explains, imagining his friend’s eyes growing wide.
[ ‘Wait. What?’ ]
“I’ll explain later. ‘Cause it’s a lot. Meet me, Phanie, Steve and Eddie at the old junkyard.”
[ ‘Steve’s with you?’ ]
Lucas pauses, rewinding the last few seconds.
[ ‘Wait. Eddie?’ ]
But Dustin doesn’t listen to the shock and throws something else out at his friend, “And bring your binoculars and wrist rocket. And load up on a shit ton of rocks. This is gonna get messy real fast.”
[ ‘Eddie Munson? Your sister’s friend?’ ]
“Yep.” His blue eyes trail to that said person, who’s currently putting on rubber gloves and gagging at the smell of raw meat. “That’s the one. Long story short, Lucas, he knows. Apparently he’s been worried about my sister’s absence at school, and found out about Dart and everything else. Like I said, I’ll explain everything when you get here.”
Dustin nods her way before turning his attention back to the walkie. “Get here fast. Please. Over and out.” He cuts their connection off, leaving Lucas to ponder on the situation.
“Alright. Let’s start our hunt for Dart.” Steph said, looking between them. “Eddie and Dustin go ahead and start walking. Steve goes next. I’ll go behind. Alright?” They nod. “Alright. Let’s go.”
The walk was pretty much silent, except for the occasional crushing of leaves, or Eddie making a comment to Dustin as they discarded the meat, or the sound of Steve or Steph regripping their hold on their bags (they were tasked with carrying the rest of whatever they bought).
It eventually became too uncomfortably quiet for the Harrington, and after quickly checking when he had enough distance from the others, he slowed his pace to match up with Stephanie’s.
“You know, I really do want to help you and Dustin out.” He insisted, knowing damn well that she didn’t even want him near her brother, let alone near herself.
She sends him a look, skeptical, on edge. “Why?”
“Look, I know you don’t want to talk–”
“Damn, right.”
“Steph.” He says, stepping in front of her way, and walking backwards, to get her attention. “We’ll just put this on the backburner. Right now, and I mean it, I just want to help you and Dustin, to keep you guys safe. Pinky Promise.”
She stares at him, mixed emotions flaring as she’s reminded of their old “promising system”. He didn’t even have to say that, because she knows no matter what happens, Steve Harrington will always keep his promise no matter how challenging it may seem. He sends her one more reassuring look before going back to his old position, leaving her to reel with even more heavy, and very conflicting, thoughts.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Hopper threw up in the bucket for what felt like the hundredth time in the last hour. After being hosed and scrubbed down, his vitals and a blood sample were taken before being quarantined in a room. It felt like a bad case of déjà vu since this happened to him last year with Brenner. At least this time around they weren’t beating him up, tasing him, and calling him every bad name in the book. He’ll take this any day over that torture. He retches again, and finally, hours later, the door opens.
“Alright, cowboy, good news. We’re giving you the green light.” Owens said, coming over. “How you feeling?”
Hopper flashes him a tight, uneasy smile. “Never better.”
“Alright, well, got a present for ya.” Owens gestures to his lackey holding up a hazmat suit. The Police Chief did not like the look of that.
“The hell is that?”
“Uh, something you should see. Preferably now.”
I guess I have no choice. Hopper slips the suit on, following the doctor into the off limits area, only this time where the gate was standing beforehand didn’t seem to be there anymore. As he looked around the infected area, he almost tripped over something solid. A cage elevator. Holy shit…
They were going below the surface of the lab.
“Watch your step.” Owens tells him, as he carefully gets on. They wait for the operator to start it before they head straight down into the abyss. After a few feet down, the lights flickered on.
Hopper nearly had a heart attack on the spot. The gate had shifted further down the wall, giving off an orange and red glow as it slowly pulsates. It looked like it was ready to burst open at any given moment.
“All living organisms develop defense mechanisms against attack. They adapt. They find some way to survive.” Owens says, as they continued down and down until they finally touched the ground.
Yep, Hopper’s definitely having a heart attack now. “Oh, my God.” He says, gazing upon tunnels upon tunnels, all slowly growing and glowing an ominous light. He never could have imagined this was even going on, or when it even started.
“It’s pretty impressive, isn’t it? It’s been spreading, growing beneath us like some cancer.”
Hopper stops himself from shuttering. This was far worse than he could ever imagine. “Why aren’t you burning it?” He asks, since it was such an obvious answer. “Why did you stop the burn?”
Owens frowns, and looks a tiny bit fearful. “Well… there’s been a complication.”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Back inside the room, Will was still under, Mike was wrapped up in a blanket and was asleep on a chair, while the two grown ups talked with a steaming cut of coffee in their hand. Joyce was currently explaining to her boyfriend everything that happened last year, and up to this point. She’s surprised he hasn’t fainted or run away yet.
“-They made me sign, like, a thousand documents. I mean... we all had to. We had to. I mean, I lost track at a certain point. They’re gonna make you do the same. I’m sure.”
“Yeah.” He nods. “Well, hey, whatever. What kind of documents?”
“Uh, confidentiality, and there were these official forms saying, like, nothing ever happened, which is why–”
“Will and that girl got lost in the woods.” He says, putting two-and-two together.
“Yeah.”
Bob lets out a breath of air, taking it all in. “Man, I always thought stuff like this happened in movies and comic books. Certainly not in Hawkins, and certainly not to someone like you.”
“Or you.” She says.
“Yeah. Bob Newby, superhero.” He chuckles quietly, just as she touches his shaking hand.
“You cold?”
“Uh, just a little jitters, I guess.” He says, before giving her a reassuring look. “Hey, don’t you start worrying about me. Okay? I’m fine. I’m fine.”
“Okay.” She whispers.
“It’s not like you didn’t warn me. ‘This is not a normal family’. Isn’t that what you said?”
“Yeah.”
“You weren’t kidding.” Bob sighs. “It kinda makes my idea of moving to Maine sound a little less crazy, right?”
She shakes her head. “Oh, it... it’s not crazy at all.” I mean, it would be nice to get away from all this, wouldn’t it? They share an intimate moment before someone speaks out.
“Mom?” Her son says, slowly regaining consciousness.
Joyce gasps, and sets her mug down. “Hey.” She rushes over quickly (beside her, Mike was starting to stir). “Sweetie, how you feeling? You okay?” Will stares at her with an expressionless face that didn’t quite sit right with her. “Sweetie?”
“Okay, they’re on their way.” Bob says, coming to stand next to her. He flashes a warm smile at the kid. “Hey.”
Still with no expression, still with no light in those pupils. “Who is that?” His voice completely monotone.
“What?” Joyce asks, confused -- meanwhile, Mike was watching this interaction very carefully.
Bob nervously chuckles. “It’s me, big guy. It’s Bob.” He says, trying to touch his hand for reassurance, only for him to flick his own hand away.
“Are you a…” Will pauses like he’s trying to find the right word (and maybe he is). “Doctor?”
“No.” Bob shakes his head, a little heart broken, but won’t show it. “No, it’s just me. Just... just Bob.”
Will says nothing else, going back to the blank staring, while Mike continues searching for a sign that his friend was okay…
Or if his friend was really here with them right now.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
After the doorbell rang for the tenth time in the last 30 seconds, Billy set down his weights, popping the cigarette out of his mouth to yell across the house, “Max, are you getting that or what?”
“Okay!” She shouts from her room.
“Swear to God, Max!”
She holds her tongue as she slips by him, reaching for the door. She was shocked to find her schoolmate on her doorstep. The redhead spares a glance over her shoulder before stepping out, closing the door. “What are you doing here?”
“I have proof.” Lucas says, hands in a defensive position (he knows the feisty attitude of hers was just waiting on standby).
She raises a brow, confused. “What?”
“Proof that what I told you was real. But we have to hurry.”
“What kind of proof?”
“A good one. But you gotta trust me. You in or out?”
.
.
Max comes back inside, her step-brother done with his workout and is now nursing a beer. “Who the hell were you talking to?” He asks, as she heads back to her room.
“Mormons.”
“Mormons?”
“Talkative ones.” She closes her door, locking it, and then quietly opens her window.
Lucas was on his bike, patiently waiting for her. “Come on, hop on. Hurry.”
Max slips out, and follows his instructions. “This better be good, stalker.”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
The three teenagers and the middle schooler continued their trek down the railroad -- Eddie and Dustin still making a trail of raw meat, Steph and Steve still lugging most of the bags. Eventually after a long period of silence, the Dungeon Master finally decided to get the remaining dirt on the supposed monster they’re hunting. Dustin, still embarrassed and full of slight guilt, came clean on how he found Dart and why he kept him. In all honesty, Eddie wasn’t expecting the actual reason …And neither was Steve.
“Alright, so let me get this straight.” Eddie begins, brain going into overdrive again. “You kept something you knew was probably dangerous in order to impress a girl who you just met?” The boy nods and shrugs.
“I actually think that… grossly oversimplifies things, Munson.” Steve cuts in, since this was also his first time hearing the actual reason behind keeping Dart. “I mean, why would a girl like some nasty slug anyway?”
“An interdimensional slug?” Dustin says, with a laugh; Like the whole reasoning was so obvious. “Because it’s awesome.”
“Look, Henderson–” Eddie shakes his head at the mental picture of what he thinks it looks like. “I like gross things, but what you’re describing, I draw a line at.”
Stephanie looks at him all surprised. I mean, the guy who was dared to eat a worm by Grant over the Summer says that having an interdimensional slug was gross? How ironic. “Really? I thought you’d be all over that?”
“Uh, no. Hard pass. Also, I think Wayne would kill me if I brought something like that home.”
Steve scratches his head, before replying, “Well, even if she thought it was cool, which she didn’t, I... I just… I don’t know. I just feel like you’re trying too hard.”
Stephanie sends him a look. “Steve.”
Eddie hums. “I actually agree with Harrington.”
Now she looks over at him. “Eddie.”
“Well, not everyone can have your guys’ perfect hair, alright?” Dustin said, diverting his eyes away from the two teens.
Steve sighs quietly, shifting around to move next to the kid. “It’s not about the hair, man. The key with girls is just… just acting like you don’t care.”
Eddie hums again, as Stephanie darts between the two of them again, dumbfounded by what she’s hearing. She even went far enough to mouth ‘W.T.F’.
“Even if you do?” Dustin asks, oblivious to his sister’s reaction, and just keeps eating up the older guys’ words.
“Yeah, exactly.” Eddie says, coming over to stand on the other side of Dustin. “It drives them nuts.”
Is this why you haven’t asked Chrissy out yet?! Being insecure, my ass. Once this is over, Steph’s seriously going to have a talk to him about his approach on getting a girlfriend. “That’s horrible advice, by the way.”
But her words didn’t seem to stick, and her brother simply asked, “Then what?”
“Oh, my God…”
“You just wait until, uh… until you feel it.” Steve continues.
“Feel what?”
“It’s like before it’s gonna storm, you know? You can’t see it, but you can
feel it, like this, uh…” What’s a good word for this scenario? “Electricity, you know?”
Dustin perks up. “Oh, like in the electromagnetic field when the clouds in the atmosphere–”
“No, no, no, no, no.” Steve shakes his head immediately. “Like a… like a sexual electricity.
His baby blue eyes go big. “Oh.”
“Steve. He’s 13.” Steph warns.
Steve shrugs, nonchalantly. “So? You remember how I was.”
“So?” She mocks. “You were a sheltered pervert, he’s nerdy and innocent. Watch. Dusty, do you know what a ‘Playboy’ is?”
The boy bats his blue orbs at his sister, confused. “Playboy?”
“See?”
Eddie jabs his shoulder into the kid’s, getting his attention. “Well, Henderson, a Playboy is–”
“Eddie, I will break your knee caps with this shovel.” Her eyes narrow. “Zip it.”
“Oh, whatever.” Steve waves them all off. “My point being is, you feel that and then you make your move.”
Dustin nods, soaking it in. “...So that’s when you kiss her?” He asks, hopeful.
“No!” Both Eddie and Steve shout in unison.
“No, whoa, whoa. Slow down, Romeo.” Eddie says.
“Sorry.” Dustin mumbles.
“Sure, okay, some girls, yeah, they want you to be aggressive. You know, strong, hot and heavy, like a…” Steve was trying to find the right word again.
“Like a lion.” Eddie adds, the other brunette snapping his fingers in agreement.
“Yeah, that. A lion. But others, you gotta be slow, you gotta be stealthy, like a… like a ninja.”
“Like a ninja.” Dustin whispers, mentally making notes at all of this free advice. He casts a quick look at his sister behind, who was currently rubbing her face and contemplating on the teenagers’ love experience -- He was torn between following her advice on just ‘being himself’ versus the ‘don’t care route’. Man, I got a lot to think about.
Dustin looks over at Eddie who was back to being preoccupied with throwing raw meat, before his gaze locks back onto Steve. Despite the advice he got, he can tell that all this talk was unlocking some heavy memories within the teenager. Some he can tell weren’t good. At first, Dustin thought it was maybe about Nancy, but judging by how Steve was acting earlier on multiple occasions, he knew it was someone else. So, he decided to do what every younger brother does best.
And that was being a smart ass.
“So, Steve… what type of girl is your crush?” Dustin asks, his question making Steve pale, Eddie looking confused, and his sister’s heart skipping a beat. He almost laughs. Checkmate, Harrington. Fess up already.
Steve was this close to killing him. Out of all things he could have said, he decided to say the one thing he was hoping to avoid in public. Especially since Eddie Munson was here listening. He’s the last guy he wants listening to this touchy matter.
Steve swallows. He couldn’t dare look behind him and see her expression. He finally breaks eye contact with the kid, and starts his reply; ‘cause he knows shrugging it off or not saying anything was going to make this more awkward and/or worse. “Uh, she’s… different. She’s different than the other girls. I don’t think I can put her into a category.”
“Yeah, I bet you can’t.” Dustin tries to hide the smile on his face. “She seems pretty special.”
“Yeah.” He can feel his chest growing tight. “Yeah, she is.”
Stephanie looks down at her feet too, unaware of Eddie watching the whole scene unfold carefully; He too was piecing things together.
“But this girl’s special, too, you know. It’s just, like, something about her.” Dustin continues. “You understand that feeling, right, Steve?”
Steve doesn’t say anything, not wanting to fall deeper into the trap. Instead, he diverts the conversation into one of the early topics they had. “Fabergé.”
The boy tilts his head. “What?”
Steve points to his perfectly sculpted hair. “It’s Fabergé Organics. Use the shampoo and conditioner, and when your hair’s damp– It’s not wet, okay? When it’s damp…”
“Damp.” Dustin notes, adding this to his mental check list (See? He got distracted with something else. His mind was just like a gnat).
“You do four puffs of the Farrah Fawcett spray.”
He finds himself almost laughing again. “...Farrah Fawcett spray?”
Eddie couldn’t hold back his snicker, before his friend sent him a teasing look. “You’re in no room to laugh. You use Aguanet.” She pokes, making him gasp overdramatically.
“Yeah, Farrah Fawcett.” Steve stops on the tracks, making everyone else come to a halt. He looks Dustin dead in the eye. “You tell anyone I just told you that and your ass is grass. You’re dead, Henderson. Do you understand?”
He shakes his head eagerly. “Yep.”
“Good.” Steve’s gaze moves to Eddie. “You too, Munson. One peep, and you’re dead. Capish?”
“My lips are sealed.” Eddie replies, making a zipping motion over his mouth.
“Alright.” They continued moving again. And about a minute later, Stephanie asks,
“You still use Farrah Fawcett?”
“I mean, yeah. Duh.” Steve scoffs. “She’s still hot.”
Eddie laughs with a grin. “Fuck yeah, she is.”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Will was hooked up to a new machine, his friend and family watching from the side as Dr. Owens checked his pupils with a flashlight. He could see a slightly different color brewing inside the mocha orbs. It was a bit… unsettling.
“Do you know your name?” He asks, after putting it away.
“Will.” The kid replies, still monotone.
“Your full name?”
“William Jacob Byers.”
“Do you know... Do you know who I am?”
“Um…” Another pause just like earlier. “A doctor.”
“Have we met before?”
“I… I don’t remember.”
“Hmm. You don’t remember me? Okay. How about, uh– How about this guy here?” He points to Mike, who gives him a small wave. “Know who that is?” Will turns his focus on Mike, thinking. “It’s all right. Take your time.”
A few seconds pass before Will replies, “That’s my friend …Mike.” His response got everyone to relax a little.
“What about me, kid? You remember me?” Hopper asks, hopes high. But when the kid shakes his head, his face falls. “They tell me you helped save me last night. You remember that?”
Another shake, and Owens starts to get nervous again. “Do you remember anything about last night? About what happened?”
Inside his dead gaze, a flicker of hatred appears. “I remember they hurt me.”
“You mean the doctors?”
“No.” Will snaps. “The soldiers.”
“The soldiers hurt you?”
“They shouldn’t have done that.” His hands curled up into fists. “It upset him.”
Joyce tenses up at the tone, causing her to recall that he used this tone with her when he didn’t like the hot bath she ran for him. Baby. What is going on with you?
“You say, ‘Upset him’.” Owens carefully pulls a picture out of Will’s drawing of the shadow monster (He had sent his team out to the Byers house as soon as Will entered into their care for any type of evidence). He holds the picture up to the boy. “Is that him?” Will nods slowly. “Okay. Okay, I wanna try something. It’s gonna seem a little odd at first, but I think it’s really gonna help us understand what’s going on. Is that okay?” Another nod. “Okay.” He faces one of the soldiers stationed at the door. “Bring it in, please.”
After a few minutes, a transparent cage was rolled in with one of the vines that attacked Hopper, still squirming a bit despite being hacked in half. A man in a lab coat stands beside it, holding up a blow torch.
“Now, Will, I want you to just let us know if you feel anything. Okay?” Owens said, before giving the signal. The torch ignites, and the man holds it just above the cage, the vine creature making a noise. “Do you feel anything?”
“L-Little sting.” Will croaks, shifting a bit.
“It stings? Where?”
He groans quietly, hand reaching for his heart. “M-My chest.”
“Sweetie.” Joyce squeezes his leg for comfort, just before the torch is moved lower. His groans again just louder, and squeezes his eyes shut.
“How about now?” Owens asks.
“It... it burns.” The vine creature shrieks just as Will jerks, clenching his chest tighter. “Ah! It burns!”
“Where?”
His heart monitor starts spiking, as he lets out a scream. “Everywhere!!”
“That’s enough. That’s enough!” Joyce shouts, as he screams again.
“Okay.” Owens sends the signal, and the torch turns off. Will collapses in his bed, heart rate going back to normal as he mother soothes him the best she can.
.
.
Out in the hallway, Joyce was gnawing at her fingernails, and Hopper was sending the Doctor cold stares as he explained what’s going on.
“Our best guess right now is it’s some kind of virus which is causing this
neurological disorder. Now, when... when a typical virus attaches itself to its host… it duplicates, right? It spreads, essentially hijacking the host. A virus is alive. It has an intelligence. That’s not... That’s not unusual.”
“Oh, God…” Joyce mutters, as she feels the tears in her eyes starting to return.
“What is so unusual here, this virus…” Owen frowns as he chooses his words carefully. “The infected hosts seem to be communicating. It has some sort of a hive intelligence, and it’s connecting all the hosts.” He then gently smiles. “The good news is a virus can be cured. We’re gonna continue to run tests. We’re gonna see what we find.”
But despite him trying to sound hopeful, it was bringing no comfort to the worrying mother. “What happens when he can’t remember anything?” She asks, her voice starting to crack (Hopper squeezes her shoulder for support). “When there’s nothing else there? What happens when my boy is gone?”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Stephanie started passing out what everyone needed for the task as soon as they arrived at the junkyard. With only less than an hour of daylight left, they have to move quickly.
“Alright–” She clasps her hands together. “Eddie, dig the holes about a foot deep. Steve, the trip wire needs to be tight, but not too tight. It needs to temporarily stun the Demo. Dustin and I will work on the bus.”
Steve was already making a face, as he looked at the spool of wire in his hands. “So… me and Munson are building the traps together?” He asks, as Eddie looks a little nervous by his undertone.
Steph raises a brow. “Is there a problem?” She asks, using the same tone.
His shoulders slack. “Um, n-no. I just thought, you know, since you made these traps before, we can do it together–”
“You and Eddie can handle the traps. They’re not that hard to make. If you have any questions, you can ask me. Alright?”
“...Alright.”
“Good.” She gestures for her brother to follow. “Let’s go.” They depart and get started on their tasks.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea? Putting them together?” Dustin asks, uncertain. He’s not sure if Eddie’s gonna do anything, but Steve on the other hand… He’s a little green right now, sis.
“They’ll be fine. They’re not chil–” Her words die on her lips as soon as she hears a bit of bickering in the distance. Steph turns around to shout, “Hey! I thought you said there’s no problem?”
“No problem/Sorry.” They said, making her sigh.
“Unbelievable.” She starts picking up scraps of metal to use on the bus; her sibling doing the same. “What is it, Dusty?” She asks, after feeling his gaze on her.
“Maybe you should break them up.” He says, truthfully.
“Why?”
“Because they’re gonna be at each other’s throats. That’s the vibe I’m getting.”
“They’re fine.”
Dustin purses his lips, and halts his actions; His sister says his name in response. “I’ll pair up with Eddie, and you go with Steve.”
“Dustin–” Steph stops her movements too. “I’m not pairing up with Steve.”
“Why not?” He says, before realizing he needs to add something to his bland question. “A-And I’m not suggesting that because of your history, I just thought maybe I could get to know your friend Eddie some more.”
“Dustin–”
“You always said that the two of you are a lot alike! I just thought it be nice to see if that was true for myself–”
“Dustin. Stop. I know what you’re doing.”
He freezes at the confrontation. “W-Wha– what I’m I doing?”
“You’re trying to make me work things out with Steve.” She says, watching the guilt set in. “It’s not going to work.”
“And what not?” Dustin whines. “I get it. Something happened between the two of you. I know that. I mean, I was pretty angry with him last year over it, and I don’t even know what went down! I just thought since… since he obviously still cares about you, I mean he wouldn’t have done what he did when you disappeared, and he obviously wouldn’t be helping us with this.”
“Dustin–”
“I mean, you still care for him. Y-You like him. Like-Like him.” He says, as her expression shifts into sadness. “Maybe you should tell him that, and–”
“But…” That didn’t make any sense. “Then why… but I… I uh… wait.”
“Dustin, listen. Despite all the hiccups, we care for each other. We both don’t want to see each other hurt.”
“Then, why isn’t this working out? Why are you still avoiding each other? Are you still… upset that he broke things off?”
“Yeah.” She nods. “I am. I mean, if he did it in a different way, I don’t think I would be as mad and as hurt as I am right now.”
Dustin takes a second to process, before asking another round of questions. “And if he didn’t break things off? Would you… would you two be dating right now?”
She shakes her head. “No.”
“No? What do you mean ‘No’? You…” He felt like he was going to burst at the seams. “Nancy. Is it because of Nancy?”
Steph sends him a bittersweet look. “Dusty, look, he’s always had a thing for Nancy. I… even helped him get steered in the right direction.”
“Then what if she wasn’t in the picture? Then what? Would you two be–” Dustin eyes widened as she shakes her head again. “N-No? But… w-why not? Steve told me he likes you–”
“I know.” She says, hurt. “And even if we told each other sooner, it was never going to happen. Not when our… worlds are polar opposites.”
“What are you talking about? We’re all the same.”
“No. We’re not.” Steph looks away briefly, her mind buzzing at old memories. “Listen, there’s a lot of history that you don’t know about us. Because of that… history, we’re not allowed to match. His family would absolutely NOT allow us to be together. Hell, they were trying to end our friendship for years.”
“But I don’t understand.” Dustin couldn’t wrap his little mind around this. “You’re nice. You’re smart, pretty, strong. Why wouldn’t his family like you?”
Her heart breaks at how innocent he sounds. “Because I’m not rich. I don’t dress like a girl. I constantly say stuff I probably shouldn’t say. I… our family has some… depressing history.” She explains, while her brother was silently understanding what she was hinting at. “So… yeah. To the Harringtons we are the… scum on the bottom of their shoe. And even if I managed to weasel my way in there, they would have made mine, yours, and Mom’s lives a living. Fucking. Hell. And even after all that, Steve would have gotten the worst of the worst because he decided to be with me.”
She looked down at him, her brother’s face was overflowing with so many emotions. “As much as I love Steve, I don’t think I can put him through that. There are stories about his parents that could give you nightmares, ones that I’m not telling you any time soon.”
“E-Even worse than Dad?” Dustin asks, quietly. His brain had just flickered a distant memory of their Father, and even though it’s pretty hazy, it still gave him chills any time it popped up.
She swallowed a lump in her throat, fighting back tears. “Even worse than Dad. They’re–” She was cut off once again by loud bickering. She groans under her breath. “HEY!!” She shouts, her voice echoing off the open sky, getting their attention. “Knock it off!” They stopped again. “Oh, my Lord…”
“...I’m sorry.” Dustin says, misty eyes on the ground. “I didn’t mean to bring it up.”
“Oh.” She lifts his chin up with her knuckles. “Don’t say that. You didn’t know. It’s okay.” He sniffles, and wipes his eyes and nose with his sleeve. “Hey–” She gets his attention. “We’ll talk about this more later, okay? Right now let’s focus on stopping Dart. Alright?”
“...Alright.”
“Alright.” She slings her arm around him, giving him a side hug. “You’re a good brother, you know that?”
“I know.” He chuckles, hugging her back. “You’re a good sister, too.”
“Thank you.”
“Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
“I said medium-well!”
The siblings looked up at the familiar voice -- Lucas was standing near the top of the hill, pointing down at the pile of meat they laid out earlier, before walking down with his bike to meet up with them.
Steph raises a brow at the person trailing behind Lucas. “Who’s that?” She asks, looking down at Dustin who had a surprised look on his face. “Wait. Is that Max? The red head you like?”
“She wasn’t supposed to be here.” He says, eyes trained on them. Seriously. What is she doing here?
“Max, you remember Dustin.” Lucas says, gesturing between the siblings. “And this is his sister, Stephanie.”
“Hi.” She says, with a wave.
“Um, L-Lucas? A word?” Dustin says, walking away.
“Uh, okay. Uh–” Lucas looks between the girls.
“You know I don’t bite, Lucas. Move along.” He nods and leaves. Steph smiles at the girl. “Max, right? I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Good things… right?” Max asks, a bit skeptical.
Steph laughs. “I swear they are. Trust me. Want to help me finish with fixing the bus?”
Max shrugs. “Sure.”
“Alright. Come on.” They start heading to the heap of metal that they made, and Steph starts handing over pieces she can take to the bus. “What’s in your walkman?”
“Oh, It’s ‘Blondie’.” Max said, happily.
Steph smiles. “Good choice.”
.
.
“You told her?” Dustin said, still shocked (They both were currently hiding behind one of the abandoned vehicles).
“So what?” Lucas asks, slightly offended by his off putting tone.
Dustin scoffs. “‘So what’?”
“You wanted to tell her, too.”
“But I didn’t, all right? We agreed not to tell her and to look for Dart.”
“Who you conveniently found.” Lucas pushes back, still not buying that Dustin ‘found him’.
Dustin gives him a skeptical look. “Are you suggesting that I’m lying?”
Now Lucas returns that same expression. “I’m saying you have a creepy little bond with him.”
“Yeah, that was before he turned into a Demogorgon.”
Lucas held his tongue, as a sigh was just waiting to fall past his lips. “And you haven’t heard from Mike?”
Dustin frowns. “No.”
“Or Will?”
“No.”
“Hopper?”
“No! No one is around.” Dustin gestures to everyone in the distance. “Why do you think I’m stuck with Steve and my sister? And Eddie? I didn’t have too many options here. Something’s–”
“Wrong.” Lucas nods. “I agree. Which is why we need as much help as we can get.” He peaked over the car, his eyes trailing to Max helping out Stephanie, frowning bittersweetly. “She didn’t believe me anyway.”
“You probably didn’t tell it right.” Dustin teases, lightening the mood.
Lucas chuckles. “That must be it.” He says, and holds his hand out. “So, we good?”
He shakes his head with a smile. “Yeah. We’re good.” Dustin shakes it. “Come on. Let’s see what else we need to do.” They stroll over to the girl duo, the oldest spotting them first.
“The bromance all repaired?” Stephanie asks.
He gives her a thumbs up. “Yep.”
“Good. Happy to hear.” Her eyes trail over them, the little gleam of happiness faded quickly when she notices something about Lucas. “Do you like ‘Journey’?”
“Journey? The band?” Lucas asks, as she nods. “Uh, yeah. I mean, I don’t like them a whole lot. Just a few songs. Why?”
She slips the headphones off her neck, unclipping her walkman to hand over to the boy. “Here. You’re just gonna have to pray that the song works in case something happens.”
“I’m confused. Why the walkman?”
“It’s–” She gets abruptly cut off when she hears arguing once again in the distance; This time it was a lot louder, and more animated. She lets out a long sigh. Couldn’t even make it thirty-damn-minutes.
“Dustin will explain it to you.” Was the last thing she said before making her way across the junk yard.
“Don’t push me!” Eddie snaps, swatting the other teen’s hand away.
“You pushed me first! Asshole!” Steve shouts, before shoving him on the shoulder.
“Dick!” Eddie latches onto his jacket, making Steve do the same, finding themselves yanking each other around; Occasionally spewing cuss words. They were so full of themselves they didn’t even hear their names being called.
Stephanie manages to wrangle the guys out of each others’ grasps, standing between them with her arms stretched out. “What the hell are you guys doing?!”
“He fucking started it!” Steve yells, taking a step that was stopped by her palm.
“I did fucking not!” Eddie said, pissed off and trying to go around.
“Eddie–” She warns.
“Want to go, Munson?” Steve eggs, puffing out his chest. “I can go for a round.”
“Steve–”
Eddie laughs coldly. “Oh, I certainly can.” He replies, cracking his knuckles.
“Guys, listen–” They start shifting around her arms, their hands reaching for– “ENOUGH!”
With all her might, she grabs them by the front of their shirts and yanks them down. They roughly fell to their knees, the impact making them take a second to blink out of their daze. When they came to, the first thing they both noticed was the bright red face and beady eyes from their friend.
“Enough.” Steph repeats again, calmer, but still sounding feisty. “I don’t care what’s going on between the two of you, but you guys need to put a pin in it until this is all over, because may I remind you, we’re fighting a flesh eating monster.” They both flinch at that last sentence. “Now, to better our odds, and to make sure the youngsters that decided to tag along are safe, you’re in charge of watching them. So–”
She jerks her thumb over her shoulder, in the direction of the said kids. “Pick a kid, stick with the kid, and so God help me, if they’re missing just one hair on their head, I will end you both. I will bury you where not even the Police Chief can find you. Hell, not even the fucking FBI. Do you understand?”
They stare up at her with terrified expressions, and racing hearts; But despite being in that state, they both shake their heads.
“Sure thing.” Steve croaks.
“Yes, Ma’am.” Eddie mutters, giving her a shaky thumbs up. She gives them both one last look before heading back to the kids. He chokes out the breath that was stuck in his lungs. “Holy shit.” Eddie nearly collapses after that. His hand went straight for his chest to check for a pulse. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard her talk that way.”
Steve laughs dryly, nervously. “That right there, was nothing. I’ve heard angrier before.”
Eddie’s eyebrows shoot up in a scare. “Angrier?”
“Yep.” Steve pops ‘P’, and starts getting up from his knees. “Just give ten years of your life like I did and you’ll surely see it.”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Hopper spent several minutes in his truck sending morse code out on his radio, just praying that one of the two kids would finally answer. But after waiting for some time, he didn’t get any kind of feedback. He closes his eyes, resting his forehead on the steering wheel. He understands why El would be giving him the cold shoulder, but Steve too? Could he be mad at his absence?
Hopper takes a deep breath, not caring at this point if the lab intercepts this feed. He’ll just have to be extra careful not to use any names. He lifts the receiver to his lips, and begins,
“Hey, guys, it’s, uh… It’s me. I know that I’ve been gone too long, and, uh… It’s…” He could feel his throat tightening up at the guilt. “I just, I want to let you know, young lady, that it’s not about you and it’s not about our fight. Okay? Something came up, and I will… I will explain it to the both of you when I get back. I just... I want you to know that I’m not mad. I’m just sorry. About everything. I…”
Why was this so hard? “I don’t want you to get hurt at all. I don’t want any of you to get hurt. And I don’t wanna lose you guys.” Hopper feels his eyes start to sting even more. “Just make sure, young lady, you heat up some real food. Not just Eggos. And I want you to eat all the peas, even if they’re mushy and gross.” He chuckles quietly. “You too, son. I know you despise those too. And… I will be home soon. Just wait for me.”
He sets the receiver back down with a sigh. God, damn it.
He’s got a lot of patching up to do when he goes back home.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
“What the hell is taking so long?” Joyce asks, while checking the clock again. Dr. Owens had told her that he and the other specialists were going to talk things over, and whatever results they came up with, she’ll be the first to know. But it has been hours since then. What could possibly be making them take this long?
“Hey.” Bob begins, softly, sensing her unease. “Doctors take forever, always. Just try and relax. Just be patient.”
And she tries. God, she tries. But after another few minutes, and a quick glance at her son who was just staring at the ceiling with that same lost-looking fucking expression, she couldn’t take it anymore. She apologises to her boyfriend first before storming out; Bob on her heels as she marches straight for the double doors down the hallway that was currently being blocked by two armed guards.
“Let me through.” She says, as they step in front of her and give her a small shove. “Let me through!”
“You know we can’t do that, Ma’am.”
“I need to talk to him–”
“He’ll be with you shortly.”
“You said that an hour ago. And an hour before that!”
“Ma’am–” But Joyce, being the little firecracker she is, continues spewing her demands as they try to calm her down (Bob doing his best to play peace keeper). While that was going down, the adults were unaware of someone watching them.
Still in his dead-like trace, Will’s russet eyes that started to shift to a murky green, something in the back of his mind was whispering heinous things to him while it flashes memories that weren’t really his. The poor boy would have remained in this paralyzing state if it wasn’t for his best friend noticing the heart monitor was beeping louder and faster than before. Will, or whoever was in the front seat, didn’t even notice his name was being called until he was physically touched.
Mike draws his hand back after his friend flinches. “What’s wrong? Are you hurting again?” He asks, worriedly.
Will blinks, slowly processing what just happened. “Uh… I-I saw something.” He forces out, but Mike doesn’t seem to notice that.
“In your now-memories?”
Will nods, and gets closer to whisper, “The shadow monster… I think I know how to stop him.”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Just as the last bit of sunlight was disappearing from the sky, Eddie was pouring the last of the meat into the center of all their traps, just as Steve was walking over with the last few bottles of Everclear. Stephanie had taken the kids aside to instruct them on what’s about to go down, and what roles they’ll be playing. Eddie thought it was kind of sweet watching her act all motherly. He could see why kids flock to her now.
His eyes shift away from the small group, back to his partner who was dumping the alcohol over the raw meat. Their interaction after Steph had scowled them had been a little less awkward, but there was still a bit of… unresolved tension.
Double-checking they were far enough away from being heard, Eddie says, “For the record, Harrington, I don’t like her like that.”
Steve sends him a look, not convinced. “You don’t?”
“I don’t. Seriously. I-I–” He puts a hand over his heart and raises the other one. “Swear on my mother’s grave. I’ve never once thought of her like that, or even said as a joke. Trust me. We’ve both agreed that our relationship is platonic. I mean–” Eddie chuckles fondly. “We’re so much alike in a lot of ways, it’s like looking in a freaking mirror, dude. So, if that’s the reason we’re at each other’s throats, I just wanted to get that off my chest.”
Steve looks away, the metal head’s words having a lot of truth to them. But he doesn’t say anything, so Eddie continues, but he chooses his words carefully,
“But… she does like you, you know? I can see it. And I can see that you like her too, despite whatever bad blood happened between you guys.”
Steve tenses shoulders slack in surprise. “She hasn’t told you what happened?” He was sure that she would have come clean by now. Especially if it’s with her new best friend.
“Nope.” Eddie shakes his head. “All I know is that she’s still bothered by it, yet… she still cares a whole lot about you. And I can see that you care for her the same way. I mean, Ex-Best Friends or not, if you didn’t, you… you would have not done what you did for her last year.”
Eddie still couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that Steve did all that last year -- being a detective, making sure Dustin and his friends were safe, risking his life to find Stephanie and Will. If hadn’t Stephanie so well, he would have called her a liar after hearing all that.
“I mean– I just still can’t wrap my head around the fact that Steve Harrington was actually a good dude.” Eddie goes on, that said person still looking at him in surprise. “Rich parents, popular, chicks love him. Not a douche? No way, man. No way. That– That, like, flies in the face of all the laws in the universe, and my own personal Munson doctrine. You know?”
“Yeah.” Steve whispers, memories of his old asshole self were surfacing. He still felt like shit at how he acted to everyone these last few years. “I get it.” But Eddie was done yet. Steve was expecting him to keep going about his ‘King Steve’ era, however–
“But when you apologized to me last year when my boys and I tried to clean her locker, I knew there was more to the story.” The Munson says, looking a bit sympathetic. “I knew that… ‘King Steve’ had to be some sort of… façade. A mask. And my stance on that never falters because Steph never bad-mouthed you once. Despite being pretty angry about what happened, never once did she ever say anything terrible about you. If that’s not friendship, or love, I don’t know what that is.”
“Yeah.” Steve manages to crack a bittersweet smile. “Yeah. That sounds like something I would do too. Have been doing, actually.” It was his turn to give back that comforting expression. “Even when my old friend, if you can call them that, bad mouthed her, or any of the other ‘Outcasts’, I never let that slide. And if I did… I’m sorry, again, Munson.”
Eddie shakes his head. “Hey. Don’t sweat it, Harrington.” He says, smiling. “I accepted it a long time ago.” Which is the truth. Becoming friends with Henderson is what really made him accept it. “So… we cool?”
“Yeah.” Steve holds his hand out. “We’re cool.” Eddie laughs quietly, joyfully as he accepts the handshake. Once that was done they continued their work.
In the distance, the Hendersons were watching them with grins on their faces. “Awe.” Dustin coos. “They work things out.”
“I knew they would.” Steph said, before her brother jabs her lightly with his elbow.
“See? Now you and Steve can work things out.”
She sighs. “It doesn’t work like that. Boys are easier when accepting apologies. One could break the other’s arm, and they’ll be cool with each other within the week. Girls are different.” She starts walking away, leaving him dumbfounded.
“What do you mean? Steve’s not a girl?”
“One of us is.”
It was his turn to sigh. One step at a time, Henderson. They’ll work it out eventually.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Billy Hargrove was blasting Metallica and getting himself ready for his big date tonight. But his beauty routine was cut short by a soft knock at his door.
“Billy?” His step-mother calls out.
“Yeah, I’m a little bit busy in here, Susan.” He replies, using the same gentle tone she was. Yet that didn’t last long when his father pounded on the door, his voice cutting across like a knife.
“Open the door. Right now.”
Billy takes a deep breath, keeping his face neutral as he walks over to open the barrier. “What’s wrong?”
“Why don’t you tell us?” His father, Neil, asks, his hands on his hips.
“Because I don’t know.”
“We can’t find Maxine.” Susan said, worriedly.
“And her window’s open.” Neil said, watching his son’s face fall a smidge. “Where is she?”
“I-I don’t know.” Billy replies, breaking eye contact.
“You don’t know?”
“Look, I’m sure she just, I don’t know, went to the arcade or something.” The teenager starts moving away to get a jacket out his closet. “I’m sure she’s fine.”
“You were supposed to watch her.”
“I know, Dad. I was. It’s just… you guys were three hours late, and, well, I have a date.” Billy replies, looking apologetic. “I’m sorry, okay?”
Neil sighs, sharply. “That’s why you’ve been staring at yourself in the mirror like some faggot instead of watching your sister?”
“I have been looking after her all week, Dad. Okay? She wants to run off, then that’s her problem, alright? She’s 13 years old. She shouldn’t need a full-time babysitter.” Billy shouts. “And she’s not my sister!”
As soon as he was ready to leave, his father turned his music off and pinned him against the closet, head slamming first.
“What did we talk about?” The adult asks, before striking his son across his face (his wife looking away). He then grabs his chin roughly, eyes stone cold that couldn’t see the blue in them. “What did. We. Talk about?”
Billy swallows and repeats, “Respect and responsibility.”
“That is right.” His father grins like a made-man. “Now, apologize to Susan.”
Billy, never taking his eyes off the man, replies, “I’m sorry, Susan.”
“It’s okay, Neil, really–” Susan tried to plead, but her husband wasn’t having it.
“No, it’s not okay!” Neil snaps. “Nothing about his behavior is okay. But he’s gonna make up for it.” He lets go of his kid’s jacket, and faces his wife. “He’s gonna call whatever whore he’s seeing tonight and cancel their date. And then he’s gonna go find his sister. Like the good, kind, respecting brother that he is.” His eyes find his son’s again. “Isn’t that right, Billy?” But he got no reply. “Isn’t that right!?”
Billy swallows again, his eyes glassing over. “...Yes, sir.” He says, softly.
Neil sighs, and steps closer. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you.”
“Yes, sir.” He replies, louder and firmer.
The adult nods, satisfied with the tone. “Find Max.” Was the last he said before leaving the room. As soon as the door closes, the hot tears begin pooling down, and Billy begins cussing under his breath.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
After listening to Will’s theory, Dr. Owens had moved him to a room that was used for meetings. Everyone including the men in lab coats and his family were watching as he looked over all the polaroids laid out on the table -- the pictures were of his drawings, the ones that made up the underground tunnels.
Another doctor was looking at his watch again, getting all impatient. “Sam, this is ludicrous.” He replies. He just honestly wanted to get the burn restarted, regardless if it hurts the kid or not.
“Just give him a moment, okay?” Owens said, getting a sigh in return.
“We don’t have time–”
“Hey, jackass–” Hopper cuts in bitterly. “Why don’t you do us all a favor and shut up, okay?” And it worked (It does help when you’re a giant like the Police Chief, and you can use your height for intimidation).
A few more minutes go by before Will stands up, running his hand across the polaroids. He made a map with his palm, soon stopping at an area that looked like a cluster of tunnels. “That’s it.”
“I don’t know.” Will admits, sparing him a glance. “I just know he doesn’t want me to see there. I think it’s important.”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Once loaded into the bus, the small group of six were patiently waiting, and just hoped that Dart had been willingly following their trail of raw meat (You don’t want to know how much that and all the equipment cost).
“So you really fought one of these things before?” Max asks Steve after a long period of silence.
“Yeah.” Steve says, while playing with the lighter. He then gestures to Stephanie across from him. “She’s actually killed one with Will before.”
Max looks over at her in surprise. “You killed one? With Will? Scrawny Will?”
Steph nods. “It was actually Will’s idea.”
“His idea?”
“Yeah. Trust me. I was surprised too.”
“So how’d you do it?”
“Will was on gun duty, and I was on fire. Although, I did chop its arm clean off with an axe. Hence why–” She holds up said weapon. “I brought one with me. Just in case.”
“Huh.” Max ponders on that for a second before following up with, “And you’re, like, totally, 100% sure it wasn’t a bear?”
“Oh, my God.” Dustin groans from his position. “Don’t be an idiot. Okay? It wasn’t a bear. Why are you even here if you don’t believe us? Just go home.”
“Dustin.” His sister says, shocked by his attitude.
“Whoa, okay.” Max holds her hands up while she stands. “Someone’s cranky. Past your bedtime? Geez…” She whispers the last part as she heads up the ladder, deciding maybe it’s better to hang out up there with Lucas.
Once she is gone, Eddie gives him a thumbs up. “That’s good. Just show her you don’t care.”
“I don’t.” Dustin says, but the oldest wasn’t believing it. Instead, he just gives him a wink. “Why are you winking? It’s weird. Please, stop.”
His sister just rolls her eyes at the whole situation, her eyes going up to the opening where she could see the two kids above. And this is why you follow my advice, Dusty.
.
.
“It’s kinda awesome.” Max says once she settled down.
Lucas pulls away from his binoculars to look at her. “Huh?”
“The fog, I mean.” She points around the area. “Looks like the ocean.”
“Ah.” He shakes his head. “You miss it?”
“What?”
“The ocean. The waves? California?” He asks, making her look away. He frowns, realizing he upset her somehow. “Sorry. I mean… Hawkins seems pretty lame, I bet.”
“No, no, no, it’s not that. It’s just…” She starts fiddling with her hands. “My Dad’s still there. So…”
“Why?”
“It’s this legal term called ‘divorce’.” Max says, sarcasm dripping in (See? A coping mechanism). “See, when two married people don’t love each other anymore…”
Lucas almost rolls his eyes. “Yeah.”
“My mom and my stepdad, they wanted a fresh start away from him. As if... As if he was the problem, which is total bull. And things… are just worse now.” She breaks eye contact again. “My stepbrother’s always been a dick, but now he’s just angry… all the time and… Well, he can’t take it out on my Mom, so…”
“So he takes it out on you?”
Max shrugs. “I… I don’t even know why I’m telling you this. It’s just... I know that I can be a jerk like him sometimes, and I do not want to be like him. Ever. I guess I’m angry, too, and… I’m sorry.” She starts rubbing her eyes when she feels them water. “Jesus! What’s wrong with me?”
“Hey.” Lucas says, gently. “You’re nothing like your brother, okay? You’re cool and different. And you’re super smart. And you’re, like, totally tubular.”
Max actually laughs at his goofy voice. “Nobody actually says that, you know.”
“Well, I do now.” Lucas replies, proudly.
“And it makes you seem really cool.”
“I like talking with you, Mad Max.”
She cracks a smile. “And I like talking with you, stalker.”
.
.
The team practically jumped in their seats when they heard a loud noise, a mix between a growl and a roar. Stephanie feels herself pale from it. “I recognize that sound.” She frowns. “Dart’s gotten bigger.”
“Holy shit…” Dustin whispers.
“Uh, I changed my mind.” Eddie says, that sound was enough to already spook him. He locks eyes with his friend. “I believe you now, Ranger.”
She gives him a sympathetic look. “Eddie…” She trails off upon hearing the noise again, and now Steve is moving to the window. They slowly peeled back the protective shield on it, surveying the area. “You see him?”
“No.” Steve shakes his head.
“Lucas, what’s going on?”
“Hold on!” The boy shouts back. He pulls his binoculars back out, and searches the fog. Sure enough, he catches some movement. “I’ve got eyes! Ten o’clock! T-Ten o'clock!”
Steve mutters the number under his breath, eyes slowly moving to the position. He points to the silhouette. “There.”
“Oh, yeah. He looks bigger.” Steph said, as her brother wiggled between them.
“What’s he doing?” Dustin asks, confused.
“I don’t know. I don’t like it.”
Up above, Max was checking the situation out through the lens, still not convinced. “Wait. You sure that’s not a dog?”
Lucas sends her a look. “What?”
And then back down below, Steve was gnawing at his lip anxiously. “He’s not taking the bait. Why is he not taking the bait?”
“Shit.” Steph curses. “If he doesn’t go for the bait, the traps are not going to go off.”
“Maybe he’s not hungry?” Dustin says, but deep down knew that couldn’t be the reason. I mean, that’s why he and Dart hit it off too. They were both bottomless pits when it came to food. Especially if it was nougat.
Steve frowns. “Maybe he’s sick of cow.” He says, pulling away from the window with a new gleam in his eye. The Henderson siblings did not like that look.
“Steve?” Dustin begins, almost like a warning. But the teenager had already started moving towards the front of the bus. “Steve, what are you doing? Steve?”
Steve picks up his lucky bat, examining it before glancing over at the duo. “Just get ready.” He replies, and tosses the youngest the lighter.
“Oh, fuck…” Steph mutters, watching him slip out the door. Things were about to get really messy, weren’t they? She moves to the ladder, and calls out, “Max, Lucas, get down here, now.” They do, and she starts guiding them to an area. “Stay in the middle, away from the windows.”
“Stephanie?” Eddie calls her name, fearfully. “What’s going on?”
“Yeah, what the hell is he doing?” Max asks.
Steph felt her heart skip a beat as she replied, “Expanding the menu.”
Meanwhile, outside -- Steve was carefully moving around, occasionally twirling his bat as he tried egging Dart to move and set off a trap. He lets out a quick whistle.
“Come on, buddy.” He calls out. “Come on, buddy. Come on, buddy. Come on.” He starts positioning himself in a fight or flight stance. “Dinner time. Human tastes better than cat, I promise.”
Back inside, Eddie was shaking his head as he watched everything unfold. He hasn’t actually physically seen this thing yet, but the sound alone was already making him panic. “When I told him he was cool, I didn’t think he was going to show off. He’s insane.”
Dustin cracks a smile. “He’s awesome.”
As they continue watching, Lucas picks up something from another side of the bus. He tugs on Steph’s jacket to get her attention. “I heard something. On this side.” His worried face must have been enough for her to let him go back on top, this time she follows him.
“What do you see?” She asks, after a couple of seconds.
He was about to brush off what he heard when he finally saw it. Another Demogorgon… followed by another one. “Fuck.” His head snaps in Steve’s direction. “Steve, watch out!!”
“A little busy here!” He calls out.
“Lucas, what is it?!” Stephanie shouts, but the boy ignores.
“Three o’clock! Three o’clock! THERE’S TWO MORE!!”
She couldn’t breathe. “...What?”
Steve felt the same way too as he heard the two extra sets of growls coming to his right; and a fast look of his shoulder confirmed it on. “What the fuck…?” He whispers.
“Steve!” Dustin shouts, running over to open the door. “Steve! Abort! ABORT!”
Like the Demos knew what that word meant, Dart suddenly jumped and lunged, miraculously missing the trap that they had laid out for him; Steve managed to get out of the way, rolling over the hood of an old car by doing so, and letting Dart crash into the remaining windshield.
“I thought you said the traps would work!” Lucas asks, as Steph was already climbing down the ladder.
“Normally they would!” She replies. They’re moving differently! Why are they moving differently?!
She runs next to her brother who’s still shouting the teenager’s name. Steph watches in horror as one almost gets a bite of Steve’s leg if it wasn’t for his quick reflexes with his nail bat. She feels herself starting to grow even more worried when she realizes they’re leading him away from the bus.
Did these things get bigger and smarter? But she pushes that thought in the back of her mind. That wasn’t important right now!
“Fuck.” She picks up the axe, and swipes the lighter from her brother’s hands. “Eddie, stay with the kids.”
“What?” Eddie scrambles to his feet from his kneeling position while watching her leave. “Wait. No! I’m not a good babysitter! I can barely watch myself! I still don’t know what the fuck’s going on?! St-Stephanie!”
“Phanie!!” Dustin shouts, as she runs into the fog.
It takes a second, but she manages to find Steve who is still holding out on his own. But anyone with eyes could see he’s starting to struggle, as his movements get sloppy, and his breathing comes out in ragged breaths. She shouts his name, letting him know she was here before igniting the lighter. One of them wasn’t directly on the trap like she had hoped, but right now her priority is drawing some of their attention away from Steve. She throws the lighter, the line of alcohol they had poured earlier ignited and catches a good chunk of its tail on fire. As soon as it screamed, the Demos’ attention was on her.
She raises her axe. “Come on. Get some of this.”
The burning tail one jumps at her, as she takes a swing. It shrieks again, and another one does the same as Steve rejoins the mix. The duo went back and forth between dodging and applying hits, before evidently ending up back-to-back with one another. They locked eyes together, then sent a unison hit on the last Demogorgon.
“Let’s go!!” Steve yells, and they take off. They navigate around the junkyard, their eyes going right for the bus door that was still open -- the children and Eddie waving and shouting for them to hurry. “Almost there!”
But why would their escape be easy? Because about ten feet away from their safehaven, the monster had run across a few junk piles and thrown itself at the teenagers. They heard Lucas’ cries to ‘Look out!’, and took a glance. Steve grabs a hold of her, shielding her with his body as the Demo collides into them. They flew in the opposite direction, hitting a car, and rolling out of each others’ hold.
Stephanie winces at the pain, her head stinging as she rolls it over to see Steve on his stomach, lying very still a few steps away. “St-Steve…?” She tries reaching out for him, but her vision is blocked by all three Demogorgons. She nearly chokes as they slowly stalk towards her, she could even hear one of the kids screaming her name. They were practically at her feet when she closed her eyes and waited for the bite.
So, this is it. She couldn’t believe she’s having a repeat of last year. Only this time instead of the bats, she’ll be torn to shreds by teenage Demogorgons. But after a moment of not feeling any pain, or hearing any movement, she opens her scared eyes. She was shocked to find them just standing there, almost like they were waiting for her to say or do something that benefits them.
It doesn’t make any sense. Why aren’t they eating me?
“Stephanie.”
A gasp falls from her lips, as her gaze goes upwards. Standing behind one of the Demos was a six foot man, paleish skin, sandy colored locks, and piercing blue eyes. He was also dressed in a jumper that was just solid white. He smiles, creepily.
“It’s almost time.” He says, making her heart race, and a shiver runs up her spine. “It’s almost time to make a new world together with him.”
She swallows, almost too scared to speak. “W-With who…?”
He tilts her head like her question perplexes him. “Well, who else would there be?” He chuckles. “You know.” His grin grew. “Don’t you?”
She felt a tear roll down her cheek as he took a small step forward to touch her face–
Flames erupted against the Demos’ backs, the man disappearing into the embers as they screamed. Just before she could register the throbbing and the blood pouring out of her nose, she was being scooped up by Steve.
“Get in, get in, get in!!” Steve shouts to Dustin who is standing outside the bus, holding another molotov cocktail just in case. As soon as the kid sees he has his sister, he runs back inside. The door slams shut once they’re all in.
“Holy shit!” Dustin yells, as one of them starts pounding against the door. Steve quickly puts Stephanie aside so he could hold the door close with his body.
“Are they rabid or something?” Max asks, making the boy snap,
“It’s not a damn dog!”
Lucas shakes his head, practically hyperventilating. “They can’t get in! They can’t! They can’t! They can’t!!” He chants as the bus was getting shaken by all sides.
“What the fuck is happening?!” Eddie yells, just as they all started screaming.
“Is anyone there?” Dustin screams into his walkie. “Mike? Will? God! ANYONE?!” They all shrieked once more when one of the monsters’ claws got through the door, causing Steve to start beating on it with his bat. “We’re at the old junkyard, and we are going to die!!”
Max slips backwards into Eddie after another shake, the eighteen year old attempting to offer comfort despite feeling like he was going to throw up or piss his pants. But all that all flew out the window when they both heard a low growl above. They looked up at the ladder’s exit, the two skeptics finally getting a good look at what they had denied even existed for so long.
Max screams first, followed by Eddie’s, “WHAT THE FUCK?!”
“Out of the way!” Steve shoves them off the ladder, and is ready to defend. “Out of the way! You want some?” The Demo screams back at him. “Come get this!”
Just as it looked like it was going to come down, it froze at a noise in the distance. Before the Party could question it, the Demo leaped from sight. The bus shook as they all left in a hurry, running back into the depths of the night. After a minute of silence, Steve opens the door to look back outside, the coast completely cleared.
“What happened?” Max asks, worriedly.
“I… I don’t know.” Lucas replies, confused by this reaction.
“Steve scared ‘em off?” Dustin says, as the older guy shakes his head.
“No. No way.” Steve frowns. “They’re going somewhere.”
“But where?” The reply was cut off by a whimper, and all eyes landed on Stephanie who was shaking in a corner.
“Hey.” Eddie plops down next to her. “Hey, are you okay? Did you get hurt?”
“What happened?” Dustin asks, sitting in front of her; scanning her head-to-toe. It dawns on him what happened when he notices the nose bleed. “Did you see someone again?”
A tear slips out as she nods. “Y-Yes…”
“Who?” Steve asks.
“I-I don’t know…”
“Did they say something?” Dustin asks, as she shakes her head.
“I can’t remember. But they scared me. I’m terrified and I don’t know why.” Steph looks up at all of them, a haunted look on her freckled features. “Something’s gonna happen and I don’t know what.”
That was not the reply they were hoping for, neither was how any of this was supposed to go. A simple mission to just kill Dart had spiraled out of control faster than they anticipated, and weren’t sure what to do.
“Jesus…” Steve whispers under his breath. What the heck were they supposed to do now? This was supposed to be over fast so he got back to looking for El and Hopper. Before he could run through some ideas, he notices her spacing out again. “H-Hey, hey, hey.” He kneels in front of her, lifting her face with the back of hand for her to focus on him. “Stay awake. We still don’t know what’s going on with you.”
He’s not sure what will happen if she passes out. Dustin calls out her name worriedly, while Lucas recalls something from earlier.
“H-Hang on.” He says, unclipping the walkman from his pants, the Journey cassette was still inside. “Here.” Lucas helps slide the headphones on her. “You shouldn’t be worrying about anybody except yourself right now, Steph.”
She doesn’t say anything, deep down in the selfish part of her core, she knew he had a point. Whatever this was wasn’t going after her brother or friends, only her. Lucas presses play, but as soon as he does, a loud crackling noise erupted from the device… and then came the smoke.
“Shit!” Steve said, everyone scrambling to pull it off. Once they did, they threw it on the ground.
Eddie comes over and crushes it under his combat boots -- a quick few stomps putting out the potential fire. “Jesus Christ.” He says, looking worried. “That’s the second time that’s happened to you.”
Dustin perks up at this new information. “Second time?”
“Yeah. At the field the other day. Gareth found her walkman in the grass, and it looked like it caught fire.”
“It caught fire?” Dustin starts scratching his chin in thought. Twice in one week. What are the odds?
While he was trying to think of an explanation to this odd coincidence, one of his friends came to a conclusion about something else.
“W-Wait, Eddie.” Lucas said, looking up at the eighteen year old. “You said this happened on the field, right? The same day Will was having his episode?”
“Yeah.” Eddie shakes his head. “The same day.”
That was all the answer he needed. The realization, and fear, struck Lucas like the bus they were in. “Will.” He mutters their friend’s name in terror. “We have to find Will. Now.”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
After realizing her husband was dead asleep in his chair, Karen quickly gets out of the tub, drying off and putting on a robe. Whoever was at the door was very persistent on ringing the doorbell -- she just hoped maybe it was one of her kids forgetting their key and not some late night salesman. Once it was open, she was surprised to see it wasn’t either option.
“Oh.” Billy begins, putting on his charm. “Hi.”
“H-Hi.” Karen stutters, making sure she doesn’t look too vulgar in front of this handsome stranger.
“I, uh, didn’t realize Nancy had a sister.” Billy replies, making her blush and laugh. “What’s so funny?”
“I’m Nancy’s mother.”
“No.” He said, in surprise.
“Yes.”
“Mrs. Wheeler. Wow.”
“Um, I’m sorry, and you are?”
“Billy.” He holds his hand out for her to shake. “Billy Hargrove.”
“Billy.” She tests out his name. “You must be here for Nancy.”
“Nancy? No, no, no. Not my type. Uh…” He tries coming up with a smooth white lie. “No, actually, I am looking for my little sister Max. Goes by Maxine. She’s been missing all day, and, uh, to be honest with you, I’ve been worried sick, you know, so…”
“Oh.”
“I thought she was at Lucas’, but Mrs. Sinclair said your house is the… the designated hangout, so, you know… Here I am.” Billy flashes his nice pearly whites which was the tip of the iceberg. It was enough for her to invite him inside, and hand write the instruction he needed for the next two houses.
“I’m not sure if he’ll be at the first one. Claudia’s cat, Mews, went missing, so I know Dustin and Stephanie are helping her look.” Karen says, handing the piece of paper over.
Billy perks up the familiar name. “Uh, is their last name Henderson?”
“Oh, yeah. It is.” Karen nods. “I’m assuming you know the daughter?”
“Oh, yes.” He smiles, warmly. “We’ve talked a lot. Very interesting girl.”
“She is. Oh– as for the Byers house, the road to it is pretty dark this time of night. So drive slowly.”
“Always.”
“And when you see Mike, tell him to come home already, okay?”
“Of course. You’re a real lifesaver, you know that?” Billy says, taking one of the cookies she made earlier and heads out. “I’ll see you later, Mrs. Wheeler.”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
“I’m sorry.” Will says out of the blue.
After what he told the doctors earlier, Dr. Owens sent a bunch of soldiers out into the specific area in the tunnels to check it out, to see if this was the key to breaking him from the hive-mind. So everyone was back in his room, sans Hopper who went to oversee the mission. In what should be an ending to this horrible story, it seemed like it was only the beginning when he muttered those two words.
Everyone looked at him in confusion, Joyce moving closer to the bed to ask, “What? What do you mean, sweetie?”
Will shakes, a little bit of his old self returning. “H-He made me do it.” He whispers, as Mike’s eyes widen, the puzzle pieces shifting into place.
“Who? Who made you do what?”
“I told you. They upset him. They shouldn’t have done that.” And the flat voice returned, but this time there was a type of anger underneath it. “They shouldn’t have upset him.”
“The spy.” Mike said, bolting up from his chair. “The spy!” He starts running out of the room, Bob on his tail while shouting his name.
“Whoa, whoa!” One of the soldiers said, blocking him from getting through.
“I need to get through! It’s a trap!”
“Mike, calm down.” Bob said, grabbing him from behind in an attempt to calm him; But only made him thrash his body around.
“No! It’s a trap! I need to warn them! IT’S A TRAP!!” The kid yells. “HOPPER! Get out of the room!! It’s a trap!”
While Mike continued to scream and try to kick his way out of the hold, Joyce was trying to get through to her kid.
“Will, sweets, talk to me.” She pleads, holding him by the shoulders. She could see that her baby was trying to break through his trance. “You got to help me understand.”
“It’s too late.” His voice mixed into the Shadow Monster’s, and his tears were threatening to fall from what he had done. “You should go now.”
“W-What?”
“Mom… pl-please. GO!!”
.
.
In the control room below, the radios were filled with nothing but screams of soldiers who were being torn apart by the Demogorgons. While the people at the controls were trying to get through to them, Dr. Owens and Hopper’s attention was elsewhere. Up on the radar, instead of seeing the dots that represented their people, there were groups upon groups of other dots popping up, indicating there were far more monsters than they ever anticipated. The ground shook as they ran, and their roars could be heard even from way up here.
Hopper felt his stomach twist into a knot. “Oh, dear God…”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
“Shit.” Dustin said as soon as they pulled up at the Byers home. “I see a car, but not their car.” Seriously, who’s car is that? Ms. Byers’ boyfriend’s?
“Do you think something’s happened to him?” Max asks, worriedly.
“Maybe…”
“Well if something did, where could he be?” Lucas asks, which was the number one question right now.
“Let’s check the door before we jump to any conclusions.” Steve says, turning the car off and getting out. Right as they did, Steph and Eddie come out of the van, following. He knocks on the door and rings the doorbell a few times. “Hello? Ms. Byers? Will? Anyone? Hello?”
“I don’t see any lights on.” Eddie said, peaking through a part of the window that wasn’t blocked.
“Shit. Now what?”
“Hold your horses. We can still go in and wait.” Steph said, moving off the porch to another area of the house. She comes back quickly with a spar key, unlocking the door.
“Oh, Jesus, it’s freezing!” Lucas said, hugging himself. Why was their house ice cold when it’s almost the Winter season?
“What… the hell is all this?” Max asks what everyone was thinking as soon as the lights were turned on.
Stephanie gazes at all his drawings scattered around the rooms and makes a face. “I mean, Will loves to draw, but I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
“Well, it looks like it definitely means something. They look like they all connect.” Lucas points out.
Dustin’s face floods with concern for their friend. “Yeah. Something’s definitely wrong.”
Eddie sighs, running a hand through some of his hair that came loose from his ponytail. “So, what’s the game plan now? Do we just wait?”
“No. We need to find him, but I just don’t know where.” Steve says, pacing a bit. “But let’s use this time to recharge. Get some fluids, eat, go to the bathroom. Let’s just rest while we come up with a plan. Alright?” He was waiting for someone to protest, but that never came.
“Alright, I’m going to try to clean my shirt.” Steph said, while heading towards the bathroom.
“You want to borrow one of mine?”
“You got a spare?”
“It’s in the trunk. It’s a polo.”
“Button up?” She asks, hoping the collar sits high enough to cover the scars on her neck.
“Yeah.” He nods.
“I’ll take it. I don’t care if it’s too big, I’ll just tuck it in.” She replies, and starts walking again.
.
.
Steve comes back inside with his blue and white striped polo, going past the kitchen where everyone was helping themselves to something to eat, and heads down the hallway.
His knuckles brush against the wooden door. “Steph? I got the shirt.” He says, waiting for a reply that never came. He felt his heart skip in silence. “Stephanie?” His hand goes for the knob. “Ste– Hey, you alright?” (Why wasn’t she answering?) “I’m coming in.”
He misses the way the knob felt, like someone was also trying to open from the other side; And when he finally gets it open, the two teens froze as soon as they saw one another. Stephanie’s turtleneck was off and soaking in the sink, her blue jacket laying on top of the toilet seat, and she was left just in her sports bra. Now, anyone with eyes would be blushing and stammering at this sight, but not Steve. No…
Instead of looking at the old wound from an accident they both shared on her shoulder, he finds himself looking at the new ones she had. And they were everywhere.
Steve manages to pry his eyes away from the sad sight, muttering an apology as he tosses her the shirt and closes the door. His hand goes over his mouth to hide his shock. He knew she had some bad injuries from the Upside Down, but he didn’t know they were that bad.
Jesus, Stephanie. Who else knew about this? Does her Mom or her brother even know? However, those thoughts suddenly disappeared when he heard a commotion coming from the living room. He rushes over. “Hey, hey, hey. What’s going on?”
“It’s my brother.” Max said, eyes blown wide. “H-He can’t know I’m here. He’ll kill me. He’ll kill us.”
Steve clenches his jaw. Oh, shit…
.
.
Billy steps out of the car, taking out his cigarette to let out a little sly smile. “Am I dreaming, or is that you, Harrington?”
Steve, who yet again self-volunteered to put his life on the line, steps off the porch, hands on his hips. “Yeah, it’s me. Don’t cream your pants.”
Billy hums, taking off his jacket and closing his car door. “What are you doing here, amigo?”
“I could ask you the same thing.” Steve said, closing the space between them and the house. “Amigo.”
“Looking for my step-sister. A little birdie told me she was here.”
“Huh, that’s weird.” Steve shrugs. “I don’t know her.”
“Small? Redhead? Bit of a bitch.
“Doesn’t ring a bell. Sorry, buddy.”
Billy lets out a long sigh. “You know, I don’t know, this…” He clicks his tongue. “This whole situation, Harrington, I don’t know. It’s giving me the heebie-jeebies.”
“Oh, yeah? Why’s that?”
“My 13-year-old sister goes missing all day. And then I find her with you in a stranger’s house. And you lie to me about it.”
Steve laughs under his breath. “Man, were you dropped too much as a child, or what?” He asks, making his classmate grin and lick his lips at the jab. “I don’t know what you don’t understand about what I just said. She’s not here.”
Another hum, as his eyes dart over his shoulder. “Then who is that?”
Steve just had enough time to see the kids ducking away from the window. “Oh, shit.” He turns back around, pleasing. “Listen–”
Billy shoves him to the ground. “I told you to plant your feet.” He snarls, and flicks his cigarette bud at him. He shoves the door open, the kids and Eddie flinching at the sound. “Well, well, well. Lucas Sinclair’s here. What a fucking surprise.”
Max stands straighter, in an attempt to hold her ground. “Billy, go away.”
“You disobeyed me. And you know what happens when you disobey me.” He says, stalking over. But just before he could get there, Eddie steps in front of the children. Billy looks shocked, but also disgusted. “Oh, wow. Well look at this. The freak of Hawkins high is here, too? What kind of pedo-party is this?”
“Get out.” Eddie grits through his teeth. He’s more of a lover and not a fighter, but damn it, he will protect these kids the best he can! Billy’s eyes darkened, and he grabbed Eddie by the front of his shirt, spinning him until he was against the wall.
“Billy!” Max yells. “Stop! Billy! Stop!”
Eddie tries prying his hands off. “Get off of–”
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Billy asks, coldly. “What are you and Harrington up to with these kids, huh?” He pins him harder. “Tell me, freak!”
“We’re doing nothing!” Eddie screams back. “Now, get off me!” He manages to knee his attacker, stunning him enough to get out of his hold.
Billy groans in pain, but pushes through it. “You’re dead, Munson! You’re fucking dead.” He replies, and takes a step, but someone was grabbing him roughly by the shoulder.
“No.” Steve said, dialing his fist back. “You are.” He lands a punch on the bully’s face, the kids gasping in surprise and awe -- Except Max, who was worried at what he just started.
“Steve!” She says, as her step-brother begins to laugh.
“Holy shit!” Billy says, excitedly. “Looks like you got some fire in you after all, huh? I’ve been waiting to meet this King Steve everybody’s been telling me so much about.”
Steve gives him a stern glare. “Get out.”
Billy would admit, he’s impressed by someone standing up to him. First Stephanie, and now Steve? It must be his lucky week. But despite the great impression, he never backs down from a fight.
He takes a swing, and misses; Steve lands another one that sends him flying back into the table -- his friends cheering again.
“Yes! Kick his ass, Steve!” Dustin shouts.
“Get him!” Lucas says.
“Murder the son of a bitch!”
And Steve keeps landing hit after hit, each one causing a fit of laughter from his opponent. He honestly thought he had this in the bag… until he struck in the head with a plate.
“Steve!” Eddie says, everyone was growing quiet now.
“Billy! Stop!” Max begs again, as Steve stumbles backwards. The contact he had with the ceramic dish was making his entire world start to spin. And it only got worse when he was struck in the temple. He was redirected towards the living room, the ringing of his ears picking up bits and pieces of his name being called.
His body soon met the hardwood floor.
Billy yells something while straddling him, but it doesn’t even register when Steve’s hit with punch after punch after punch; His face turning black, blue and red real fast.
Someone in the distance yells at him to stop.
“Stop!!” Stephanie said, running passed the kids, and right passed Eddie who was about to intervene. “Billy, stop!” She falls to her knees right beside Steve, and grabs the blond’s fist. “I said stop!”
He freezes up once he sees who it is. “Stephanie? What the hell are you doing here?”
“This is my friend’s place. We were waiting for him to get home.”
“Wha–”
“Look–” She begins, trying to speak gently, carefully; Like she was trying to tame a wild beast. “I know this looks weird, it looks bad, I get it. I really do. But nothing is going on. I promise. But you need to leave.”
Billy searches her face for a lie, yet he knew he wouldn’t find any. His shoulders slack, but he doesn’t pull his hand away from hers. “Not without Maxine.”
“It’s Max, and no. You’re not. She doesn’t want to leave with you.”
“You’re not her guardian, you don’t have a say.”
“And neither do you. She’s staying here.”
“Stephanie–”
“I know you’re angry, okay? I know you’re pissed that your Dad moved on with someone else.” Steph says, knowing she might be crossing a line, but that’s all she has to work with right now.
Billy’s eyes widened–
And so did Max’s. She… she overheard what I told Lucas?
The blond couldn’t even comprehend how she knows about his life when they haven’t really gotten the chance to speak other than in passing. “W-What?”
“I know, alright? And you can’t take it out on his new wife, so you take it out on Max. But it’s not her fault, okay? She didn’t ask for this either.” She says, making him break eye contact with her to think. “I think Max would rather be in California skating with her now single Dad than being here. So open your eyes, and realize that the two are in the same goddamn boat.” Now the gentleness was subsiding, and the sharp tone was taking over. “You will leave her alone. You’re going to leave her friends alone, and you’re going to leave mine alone. Just like you promised me on Halloween. Remember?”
He swallows, and nods slowly. “...I do.”
“Then, go home. Please.” She said, as he shook his head. She could see new emotions that weren’t there before appearing.
“You know I can’t go home empty handed.” He whispers. “My Dad’s going to–”
“I know.” She shifts back to the gentleness. “So I can make up a story. I’ll call her Mom, I’ll pretend to be her friend’s Mom and I can make up a believable lie, I swear. I can even tell them that it’s late, and you’re staying the night too if that makes things better. But you need to leave now. Please.”
Everyone was holding their breaths as it got really quiet, there was a fifty-fifty chance on how this was going to go, and were just waiting for a disappointment.
They were genuinely surprised that it was the ladder.
Billy stands up, Steph following. He doesn’t look at anyone else here, just her. “Fine. I’ll leave. But you tell Susan that I’m here.” He heads for the door, grabbing the handle. “But if I find out you’re lying, and you hurt my step-sister, I’ll end all of you.”
He shuts the door behind him, and they waited until they couldn’t hear his muscle car anymore to breathe.
“Holy shit…” Max exhales, as looks over at Dustin. “How did your sister do that?”
“She has a way with words. Always has.”
“How’s Harrington?” Eddie asks, coming over to his friend who was examining him.
“Steve?” Steph asks, while patting face, making him mutter something incoherently. “Steve? Can you hear me? Steve?”
“I think he’s concussed.” Lucas said, the kids hovering over him now.
“Steve?” She tries again, as his eyes begin rolling towards the back of his head. “Don’t fall asleep. Steve?” But judging by how he wasn’t moving, he was definitely blacking out right now. “Steve? Steve!”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
While sitting on the bed, Stephanie’s rubbing something between her fingers repeatedly, while her gaze remains on a crack on the wall, before Steve jolts awake. His bloodshot eyes burst open, immediately being hit with a wave of pain that he tries not to show.
“Where am I?” He asks, frantically looking around an unfamiliar room, while laying in an unfamiliar bed. “Where the hell–”
“Relax.” She puts her hand on his chest, gently pushing him back down. Her expression was just as soft as her tone. “You’re in Jonathan’s room. You took a few nasty hits.”
“Oh.” He almost forgot about that (Does he have a concussion?). “Where is he?”
“I managed to talk him down. Surprisingly he listens to me.”
“Yeah, well he’s told me he does have a thing for you.” Steve frowns. “Repeatedly.” He almost asks about Max and the others, but her look stops him. “What? What’s wrong? Did you see someone again?”
She shakes her head. “No.”
“Then, what?” Without missing a beat, he finds himself staring at her old necklace with the heart-pick pendant.
“It was sticking out of your pocket.” She explains, making him freeze up. “Where’d you find this? I thought I lost it.”
He frowns, both out of sadness and guilt. “Well, Hopper found it first when investigating your disappearance. He then gave it back to your brother. Dustin and I got into an argument and he threw it at me, and now it’s been in my possession for almost a year.” She just shakes her head again, saying nothing which wasn’t the reaction he was expecting. “I thought you would have thrown it out.”
“Surprisingly, I didn’t throw anything you gave me out.” She answers, truthfully.
“Yeah.” He hums, quietly. “Me neither.”
And then it got quiet. Too quiet. So quiet that they couldn’t even hear anything but their light breathing.
Stephanie decides to bite the bullet, and with glassy eyes, she finally asks the question she’s been dying for him to answer. “What happened to us, Steve? We used to be so close.”
He swallows, his throat threatening to close as he too felt his eyes sting. “So freaking close.” Steve laughs under his breath. “Tied at the freaking hip.”
“Did you enjoy our friendship?”
“Of course I did.”
“Then why did you end it?”
“To keep you safe.” He finally admits. “I had to. I couldn’t risk you getting hurt. More ways than one.”
She looks down for a second, her hands squeezing the necklace for grounding. “...Is it safe to tell me now?”
Steve swallows the lump in his throat, he could feel the waterworks coming. “I don’t know. I really don’t know.” He admits, truthfully. “But… These few hours made me realize how much I fucking miss you. And… I-I don’t want to lie to you any more.”
“Then don’t.” Steph says, eyes stinging too. “I’ve missed you also, but I want to know. I need to know everything, Steve. Especially if we want to try to make this work again.”
“I know you do.” He chokes out, before biting his lip nervously. “But the truth could hurt you more.”
“Then, let me be the judge of that.” She places the necklace in hand, rolling his fingers so it closes around it; The gesture makes them lock eyes again. “Start talking.”
Strained relations; Shinazugawa brothers x oc sister
*Author's note*
Now following my last post this fic takes place during the ACTUAL events of the anime in the Hashira training arc episode 5 "I even ate demons" so expect spoilers from it if you're new to the Demon slayer fandom or never seen it before. Not much else to say but just buckle up cause this is a LOT if anyone knows the story of the Shinazugawa brothers and their family history so don't expect cuddly warm feels this time around.
Warnings: Death, strained family relationships, angst, some fluff, violence and fighting.
Hashira training is no joke, especially when you train in the Shinazugawa dojo. My twin brother and I don’t go easy on these kids, especially my brother. However I’ll be willing to patch up any serious injuries after training since my brother’s too stubborn to care for anyone else but me.
Most don’t even make it this far, hell when your first instructor is Tengen Uzui, I wouldn’t blame them. Don’t get me wrong I respect the guy but I still get flinches in my back everytime a kenpo stick smacks the ground.
I was now heading the class while Sanemi was taking a much needed mediation break in the incense room. Well I verbally demanded he take a break cause from the looks of these kids, he would’ve killed more than half of them before lunch time. So I took over their training.
All they had to do was try and knock me down and pin me to the ground for three seconds. If all of them succeeded, there’d be a special surprise to come with their meals, if not well then their servings would be cut in half. Hey like I told you, we Shinazugawa’s don’t mess around.
So far even when the students would tag-team to try and pin me down, they were unsuccessful as I’d twirl and spin in circles around them before striking. They don’t call me ‘the White Tiger in the hurricane’ for nothing. My twin would unleash any Wind-breathing technique he wanted to serve out first, and I’d follow up immediately with my own Tiger-breathing techniques that could stun an opponent from their head to their feet (much like a Tiger’s roar).
I was also known as the ‘White tiger’ because of my hand-to-hand combat skills. Some people claim that when they fight me, it’s like fighting a wild tiger that plays around with you until I decided to strike you down in a flash.
The young blonde demon slayer with the sunset uniform, Zenitsu I believe his name was, he was probably one of the only few to keep trying to come at me and be determined to pin me down. But like my name sakes, I can’t help but feel a rush of energy from his speed as he tries to catch me only for me to turn his speed and power against him.
As he reached out for me, I sidestepped and grabbed his wrist before flipping him over my shoulder sending him straight to the ground. Another slayer came from behind me but I quickly went straight into a split (thanks Mitsuri-chan for those flexibility training sessions).
I then spun around and kicked the young man in the gut, chest and face before side-swiping him. All around me I heard nothing but groans and whimpers.
“What you gentlemen need to understand is that fighting is like a circle. An endless loop of power that cannot be changed from the outside but it can be changed on the inside. It’s up to you yourself on how much force you decide to push within the circle and by understanding that flow and the concept of its limits, that is the only way you’ll ever be able to defeat me. Or any demon for that matter, especially an Upper moon ranked one.”
“More philosophical lessons. At least this time it’s from a pretty girl.” Zenitsu groaned. Better pray you never say those things around Sanemi.
“Alright gentlemen I’d say you’ve earned yourselves a small break. Take ten.”
“Thank you ten.” They all groaned be remained where they lay as I left to head back inside the dojo.
I filled up a cup of water in the kitchen and took a couple large gulps from it when I heard a strong, hoarse voice say with such hesitation.
“Nee-san.” My eyes briefly widened as I set the glass down and calmed my emotions and I spoke up.
“No one has called me that in a long while.” I turned and there he was. My little brother Genya. He surely had gotten bigger, his muscles were almost to par with Sanemi’s. And damn why did he have to be taller than me? I’m supposed to be the older sibling yet he and Sanemi definitely out-height me. It’s not fair!
The years truly hadn’t been kind as the very mark that was left on his face the night we lost our family had now been turned into a jagged scar across his cheek to his nose. His eyes held the same sharpness as Sanemi but there shined regret and shamefulness.
“You got bigger. It’s not fair.” I spoke up taking the last sip of my water. Genya shyly came out from behind the entry way.
“I—”
“Follow me.” I told him as I walked past him. It wasn’t safe for us to be talking together in the dojo. Not when Sanemi could come in and try to interrupt us. Not the first time this has happened.
In the couple of years since he joined the Demon Slayer Corps. Genya has tried profusely to apologize to both Sanemi and I about what he had said that day. The day Sanemi and I had to make the most grueling decision to kill our mother after she had been turned into a demon.
She had killed all of our younger siblings and would’ve killed Genya had Sanemi not tackled her out of the house and I delivered the first killing shot to her head with a sickle lying nearby. But when the sun rose over our village and Genya came running towards us, holding our mother’s corpse calling us murders and killers. Blaming us for what happened and claiming to never want anything to do with us again.
And after we had all taken a vow to protect our family. As the three eldest siblings, we made a pact to look after the little ones and mom after our bastard of a father was killed. But when Genya said all those hurtful things, it hurt to hear him say all that.
As the years went on after we went our separate ways, I knew where he was coming from. He came upon a scene of us covered in blood, our mom (who still looked normal, at least physically she still looked human) dead and covered in cuts and wounds so deep, it was like she was a piece of meat than a person. If I were in his place, I probably would’ve reacted the same way.
I lead Genya to the gardens where I had fields of Wysteria flowers growing along with lavender, tulips and tiger lilies. As we came over towards the koi pond I knelt down beside it and poked my finger into the water seeing the ripples grow bigger and bigger.
I heard Genya collapse and when I turned to face him. He was on his hands and knees bowing so lowly, it was like he was a flatbread.
“Please forgive me!” he wept. His shoulders began shaking as his voice wobbled. His head raised and tears were burning behind his lashes but he refused to let them fall freely even though he so desperately wanted to. He was trying to remain strong before me. “I—what I said….th-that day I…..you and big brother were just trying to protect me. And I—I called you both……”
“Genya.” I calmly spoke his name. He went still as he kept his eyes on me. I went up to him, held my hand out for him and he looked surprised. He must’ve thought I’d strike him (wouldn’t blame him. I know that’s something Sanemi would’ve done). He took my hand once he knew I wasn’t gonna strike him.
I helped him onto his feet, grabbed him by his arms and looked him dead in the eye.
“That night when mom became a demon; that was the most terrified I had been. Not because she was already dead at that point, but because she had one thing on her mind. Bloodlust, and the first person she struck was me. Had Sanemi not pulled me out with such reflexes, I would’ve died. I managed to get by with just this.” I parted the white and black strands of my hair on my right side aside to reveal the patch I wore underneath.
Genya softly gasped never knowing the reason why I kept my hair covering the right side of my face. He hesitantly reached out but I took his hand and just held it between both of mine.
“She headed straight for the house. She was like a rabid animal, she didn’t even recognize us as we called out to her when Sanemi and I found her standing in the middle of the cobblestone path leading towards the house. It killed us knowing what we had to do, but we knew that mom was gone. All we could think about was saving you and the others. After the mother, the older siblings are next in line as the Protectors of the younger ones. But as you know it was too late, you were the last survivor. Sanemi couldn’t have that. That’s why he saved you and lead mom over to me so I could deliver the first blow. As you know only Nichirin is the only known material that can kill a demon, and our village had none of those. With each strike we delivered onto mom, it killed us even more. She kept wailing and foaming at the mouth, not staying down. It……I will never forget that night for as long as I live. No matter how many demons I kill, mom will always be the one who I regret killing the most.”
“Nee-san.” I took a deep breath and squeezed his hand.
“When you came on the scene, I understood. Seeing your big brother and sister over your mom’s dead body covered in her blood. I can understand why you thought what you thought. Even after what you said to us, there hasn’t been a day that went by that I don’t regret protecting you. Regret forgiving you.”
Genya choked as he looked at me. A single tear fell down his face and I reached up and wiped it away.
“You are mine, mine to me. No matter where you go, or what they may call you. You will always be my little brother.” I placed my hand behind his head and brought it down so that our foreheads could touch each other’s. We both closed our eyes as we drew in each other’s strength. Genya’s sharp breathing began to ease as he held onto my wrist comfortingly.
“Thank you…..nee-chan. Thank you.” He choked out.
“I’m not as hot-headed as Sanemi. You never needed to convince me of anything Gen-chan.”
“Would you not call me that anymore? I’m not a kid anymore!” he groaned.
“Aww but it always suited you. Gen-chan!~” he threw back his head groaning as he walked away. I ran at him and pounced him on his back sending him off balance. Now I knew he had better stance than that (after all my philosophical brother Gyomei praised on how much Genya had learned from him and how he was his best tsuguko). And yet he allowed me to easily tackle him and throw him off balance. “Pinned yah.”
“Get off of me!”
“Hmm…..Mmm…..no. You’re actually quite comfy. Mind doing 100 pushups while I kick back and relax? Being a sensei drains so much energy and I am soo exhausted!” I lay myself across his back and I felt him proceed to do some pushups. However once he got up to ten, I felt him elbow me off and I found myself rolling onto my back and he had me pinned down.
“Seems I’m the only one to pass your training session huh?”
“Not bad little brother, but you still have a lot to learn.” I grabbed his arm and twisted it and used the momentum to pin him down onto his stomach, his arm twisted behind him as I held him down with my feet on his shoulder. He exclaimed and began to tap out as I grinned and chuckled. I let him up and walked back towards the dojo. “I’m making mom’s special omelet rice tonight for supper. Mind helping me out? Got a full house to feed and you know Sanemi is shit when it comes to cooking.”
“Mmm, yeah I’ll help you out nee-chan.” He ran to catch up with me and the two of us walked side by side of each other towards the dojo.
A couple days later and training kept getting harder and tougher. The poor young demon slayers at this point were traumatized when it came to be taught by my twin brother. Some even began pleading for me to become their permanent sensei.
But I knew this is what they needed. For as hard as Sanemi is with these kids, he’s the closest thing to an enemy they’re gonna face. Demon’s don’t show any mercy and his power and ferocity is the closest thing to fighting a demon they’ll get.
Genya stayed on my side of the dojo as I kept him out of sight from Sanemi as best as I could. During the day he’d do solo training on his own in the gardens, then at night I’d meet up with him and see what he’s learned and what he needs to work on.
Also in that time, the young rebel Demon Slayer Tanjiro Kamado had arrived to begin his training with my brother and I. Like all the others, he said I was at least more sensible minded than my brother and not as strict. If they needed breaks, I gave them breaks but it would come at a cost whether it was cut rations on food or earlier training sessions.
I’ll admit the Kamado kid has a strong spirit. He truly gives it his all during my training sessions. And yeah while he hasn’t been the one to pin me down, he’s at least gotten a few hits on me which stuns everyone.
After one grueling training session with my brother, I was in the healing wing applying some ointment to Tanjiro’s bruises and scrapes. He hissed as I got a particularly bad one on his shoulder.
“Sorry.”
“No, no it’s fine. Guess it’s worse than I thought.” He said softly.
“It’s not so bad but what I meant was sorry about my brother. He particularly seems to have a real grudge against you. I know he’s tough on everyone but ever since you came, it’s like he’s out for blood. And for that I’m deeply sorry.” I said giving him an apologetic bow.
“Oh really you don’t have to apologize! Really!” He continued to stammer as I finished patching him up.
“Here, put this on both your eyes. Alternate between 10 minutes each eye and that should reduce the swelling.” I told him giving him a damp cold cloth.
“Thank you Ms. Shinazugawa.”
“Oh please at this point it’ll be too confusing if you refer to me as that with my brother around. Call me Izumi.” He nodded and bowed again saying thanks again. As he went to leave I called out to him, “Tanjiro.” He turned to face me. “If anything I should be thanking you.”
“Hmm? For what Miss Izumi?”
“For being there for Kyojuro. I’m glad that he at least wasn’t alone when he passed on.” He looked at me shocked.
“Tiger lily?” he spoke my nickname that Kyojuro gave me. I smiled softly and nodded. Tears filled his eyes and he quickly wiped them away even with the bruised eyes. “He had asked to give you this. He said that it was what he had failed to bring back to you.”
“Oh that man.” Tanjiro came up to me and pulled something out from his pocket. It was my handkerchief that I had once given to Kyojuro. Such a sloppy eater, I thought he should at least take it with him to clean his face off. He handed me my handkerchief and I unfolded it and inside of it, my throat clenched.
It was what I had asked him to bring back to me knowing that he’d come back to me alive. A small leaf, no the first leaf that brushed across him on his journey. Call me a sentimental romantic but I told him that he would need to think of me everytime he looked at it, and when he’d come back he could return it to me because that was truly what I wanted. For him to come back to me, but he—
“Miss Izumi, are you alright?” Tanjiro asked me. I sniffled and quickly dried up my eyes as I wrapped the leaf back up into my cloth and pocketed it.
“Yes, I will be. Thank you Tanjiro Kamado. You have my everlasting gratitude for returning this to me.”
“There was a longing look of love in his eyes when he handed this to me. Were you two…..”
“Treading a dangerous line aren’t we Kamado?”
“Sorry ma’am! I didn’t mean to ask such an improper question I just merely, I-I mean it’s just that he……” I chuckled softly and ruffled his hair a bit.
“I’m just playing around with you. Yes we were close. But we had to keep our relationship a secret. Not that it’s forbidden to love another Hashira, we just didn’t want the others to hound us with ‘told you so’s’ and ‘about damn times’ especially from Tengen. God that man never let me live it down when he figured out my feelings for Kyojuro.”
“I can tell. Just from hearing you speak about him. Again I am so sorry. I wish there was more that I could’ve done.”
“Don’t blame yourself for what happened Tanjiro. We Demon Slayers know the risk especially if we go up against the 12 Kizuki. And like I had told you, I’m glad that he wasn’t alone in his final moments. Most slayers don’t get to have that fortune of dying alongside such caring comrades. And for that I am truly grateful.” I bowed to him once again and we soon left the medical wing.
As we walked along the corridor, I heard Genya’s voice call out.
“Big bro wait!” I paused in my steps and felt my heart race. Damnit Genya why did you have to go about this now!? Tanjiro and I came to the end of the corridor and peeked out to see my two brothers standing in the same room for the first time in years.
I had hoped to at least ease the fact that Genya had been staying with me to Sanemi but now that’s out of the question.
“There’s something I want to tell you.”
“Learn some boundaries. And I don’t recall having a younger brother. There’s only me and my twin sister.” Sanemi turned towards Genya, his eyes wide and full of anger. “If you don’t give me some space, I’ll eviscerate you.”
He may say those things but half the time I know he’s not serious. Out of the two of us, Sanemi was more deeply affected by what Genya had said that day. After that he insisted that he no longer had a younger brother because the pain was too much for him to bear. Sometimes he’d wake up crying because he’d be having nightmares of that day and hearing Genya’s words echoing in his head even after waking up.
So he decided to be as cold and detached as possible whenever it came to Genya, or everyone else for that matter. Even when he’d try to reach out and speak to us, Sanemi only gave him what Genya said he was. A murderous monster who’d kill anyone on sight for even just breathing wrong.
“Stop talking to me like we’re close or something you freak.” Sanemi started off. “Judging by the looks of you, your useless. And if you don’t have any skills to show, then quit the Demon Slayer corps. You can’t even use breathing techniques right? And you’re not a real swordsman.”
“I can’t but…..” Genya trailed off. Sanemi walked off as Genya called out to him again, “Hey! Hold on before you go! I’ve been wanting to apologize to you all this time.”
“I really couldn’t care less. Now get lost.” Now that’s a lie. Well half a lie, somedays he really doesn’t care but as I said earlier, there are some nights late at night where he does let down those walls and he secretly longs for Genya to see why we did what we did.
He even once told me on one of our late night conversations when both of us were restless out in the gardens that he had hoped that Genya was at least living a normal life. Far away from even considering in becoming a Demon Slayer. That he’d find a good job, settle down in a nice home, and one day maybe even start a family of his own once he was old enough.
“But brother….I—” what Genya said next, would shake me to my very core. Something he should’ve told me and not just shared with Sanemi. “I’ve even eaten demons. Just to be able to fight.”
Sanemi stopped in his tracks. The corridor was dead silent but a growing tensity was festering the air.
“You what? What did you just say? You bastard, demons!” slowly turning back towards Genya the room grew even thicker as I could feel Sanemi’s rage really starting to boil to an 110. With a stomp of his foot, the air in the room pulsed. Genya and Tanjiro were both frozen in fear while I just stood there in shock. “You’ve eaten demons!!” and just like that Sanemi disappeared.
Without hesitation I quickly ran out, I heard the faint voice of Tanjiro calling out to me and next thing I saw was Sanemi with his fingers extended outward ready to gouge out Genya’s eyes. Had I hesitated for even a second, I would’ve been too late as I tackled Genya and moved us out of the way toppling and rolling out of the dojo and onto the gravel ground outside.
“Miss Izumi! Genya!” I held Genya’s face into my chest as I shielded him and looked down at him. All except for a slight cut now added to his face from the aftermath of Sanemi’s Wind techniques, he was okay. I embraced Genya tightly as the dojo began to creak and groan with each step Sanemi took. “Are you both alright?!” Tanjiro asked frantically.
“We’re fine. Not the first time this is happened.”
“Big sister.” Genya croaked fearfully. I looked at him smiling softly and kissed his newly formed cut before turning back with a harsh glare as Sanemi finally revealed himself.
“So you were really going to kill him? Just like that with no hesitation!?” I exclaimed.
“You of all people would know sister that if I wanted him dead, he would be. We’re not allowed to kill trainees, but I have something else planned. I’m going to break him beyond recovery. I’ll tell you what, if he quits the Demon Slayer corp right here and now, I’ll let him go.” The psychotic look in his eyes as he said this, I can’t believe that he was serious about it.
If you were to blind him, how would he live? No one would hire him, he’ll be out in the streets begging for coins just to survive.
“How dare you! There’s no way you have that kind of authority! You can’t force him to quit!” Tanjiro yelled at my brother. Tanjiro I wish you’d let me handle this but he kept at it. “And you just said it yourself that you have no brother, so you have no say in what choices Genya makes! Whether he has skills or not, he’s decided to risk his life fighting demons! If you’re not his brother, then I’m not letting you stand in his way! Without Genya, that upper rank would have beaten us!”
I saw Genya’s eyes widen in shock at Tanjiro’s confession. I could tell that like Sanemi, Genya never really tried to make friends after what had happened. To stay closed off and keep a distance from everyone but from seeing Tanjiro, he seems like the type of guy to never give up on someone especially when it comes to extending a hand in friendship.
“So I won’t let you hurt him! Genya’s my friend!”
“Is that right?” my twin smirked psychotically as he continued, “Then I’ll just go ahead and break you beyond recovery first!”
“ENOUGH SANEMI!!!” I roared out. My voice carrying the same thunderous reverberance of a tiger’s roar as everyone felt their bodies freeze.
I stood up and placed my hand on Tanjiro’s shoulder and gave him a pat before standing in front of him.
“If you want to hurt my pupil or my little brother, you’ll have to go through me.”
“Step down Izumi. You’re the Tiger Hashira. This foolishness is beneath you.”
“I’ll decide what is foolish for myself. Like letting my own anger keep me from finding happiness again.”
“What are you going on about?”
“Genya and I talked about this days ago and worked things out. If you weren’t such a hard-ass, stubborn mule you could’ve been with us too to hear him out. We could’ve started to be a family again. I’ve already forgiven him years ago.” He scoffed out a laugh.
“Forgiven him? You always were such a sentimental girl. Thinking with your heart rather than your head. Well if you’ve learn to forgiven him, don’t come crying to me when he turns on you again. As far as I’m concerned, I’m thinking about denying having a sister too.”
“You know what Sanemi? You’re the one who will never change, you’ll always be a bitter loner who only cares about himself! I’m glad Kanae never got to be dragged down into your cynical beliefs.”
I knew I had hit a nerve as his veins really popped out. The young Demon slayers all whimpered and shook in fear at Sanemi’s raging aura and in a split second he disappeared before I was sent flying towards a tree.
“NEE-SAN!!”
“MISS IZUMI!!” Tanjiro and Genya called out to me. I felt blood dripping down my cheek and I let out a groan.
“Okay, I guess this is how it’s gonna be then.” I spun back onto my feet and used Tiger Breathing 3rd form; Tracking scents.
By focusing my energy into my feet, I could use seismic vibrations to try and pinpoint my brother’s location even at the fast as wind speed he uses. Once I pinpointed his direction, I unsheathed my sword and blocked his sword with my own.
Pushing back and forth against each other until our swords came undone and I charged head on. Sanemi leapt out of the way and tried to kick my head down but I blocked it with my left arm before the kick could knock me down.
It’s one thing when the Shinazugawa twins fight demons together. We’re a powerhouse of speed and power that no demon could ever hope to count on when it comes to fighting Demon Slayers. But when the two clash to this degree well—let’s just say you’d rather take your chances facing all 12 Kizukis’ than getting caught up in one of our brawls.
But soon Sanemi had me pinned down and he would’ve ended my life right there and then had Tanjiro not headbutted him and took over the fight. Soon the other young Demon slayers fought against my brother all to defend me.
The fight lasted until dusk.
I stood with my arms crossed in my personal dojo as I heard the door softly slide open.
“Sit down Genya.” I said harshly. I heard him come in and he entered my private dojo and sat respectfully.
“Sister, I—”
“Enough!” my hand shot up silencing him. I turned and glared down at him making him flinch. “I need you to tell me what the hell you were thinking.”
“I—I couldn’t just stay hidden from big brother anymore. So I—”
“That’s not what I meant Genya.” I fully turned towards him. My hands clenched into fists so tight my knuckles were pure white and I almost drew blood onto my palms. “You said it yourself. You’ve been eating demons to get stronger. Tell me everything. When did you first start? Why did you even start? And who encouraged you to do it so that way I can find them and skin them alive for putting such a reckless, stupid idea into your head!”
“It wasn’t anyone’s idea but my own!” he exclaimed. “He—he was right. I can’t use breathing techniques. Not like you and him. I can’t even use a proper sword. It didn’t work for me after my Final Selection. So I did some research, and found out that if I were to ingest small portions of a demon, I can temporarily gain their strength and stamina to keep up with them and end them. So I—”
I didn’t even allow him to finish as I kicked him square in the face sending him flying across the dojo. I trudged up to him and gripped him by his collar and forced him to look at me. His nose bleeding from both nostrils as he looked at me in shock.
I gave him two hard punches across both sides of his face while holding onto him so that he’d feel each hard punch before I uppercut him straight into his gut making him groan and puke out spit. I proceeded to take out my anger out on his body hitting, kicking and tossing him about my dojo.
Genya collapsed onto his hands and knees coughing out blood and panting shakingly by the end of the beating. He looked up at me harshly while I stood over him with my cold eyes glaring down upon him. He wobbled back onto his feet and just stood there wiping his nose of the blood and spitting out a bit more blood onto the floor. I walked over towards him again and he stood firm and closed his eyes ready for another assault onto him.
However this time I didn’t hit him. I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him as tightly as I could.
“You dumb little shit. After what I just told you about our mom becoming a demon, how do you think it makes me feel knowing my little brother temporarily becomes one?” I felt his body tremble as his arms slowly came up and embraced me back while his face buried itself into my shoulder.
“I’m sorry, nee-san. I’m so sorry.”
“Promise me, you won’t do this ever again. I can’t bare it a second time if I had to put a family member down after becoming a demon.”
“I promise nee-san. For you.” He wept. I smiled solemnly as tears slowly slid down my face. We stayed that way for a while before we separated and I wiped away his tears.
“And about Sanemi, don’t worry about him. If he’s not willing to accept any siblings, know you’ve still got me. We’ve got each other now.”
“But I—I thought you’d be angry with me like he was.”
“That wasn’t me being angry. Trust me you would know if I’m ever that angry. No Genya, what I just did was more out of sadness. Because I was afraid I’d lose the only remaining family I had left. Especially after all these years of being apart.”
“I really am sorry nee-chan. I—wanted to become stronger. To become a Hashira to find you and brother and apologize to you both. And for you both to acknowledge me.”
“You’ve always had me at your corner. Even when you couldn’t see me, I was there.” It was then my Kasugai crow flew in and let out a caw. It stood on its perch preening the white feathers on its chest and hidden within its wings.
Genya looked at me in recognition. I smiled and patted his cheek and told him to come with me to the healing wing to get himself patched up. And then I’d feed him a warm-hearted meal.
Things may have continued to strain between both my brothers, and now quite possibly me and Sanemi but at this point all I cared about was that both my brothers were at least here under this roof. Genya and I fully reconciled and I was going to help him become stronger without resorting to such desperate measures.
Teacher shipping; Kyojuro Rengoku x oc Shinazugawa sister
*Author's note*
Okay so after not posting anything up for awhile fanfic wise but getting into some more animes, I've decided to add the infamous DEMON SLAYER to my list of fanfics that I'll be open to write for. I tell you since getting my Crunchyroll account, I've been on an anime BINGE but now I need more cause now I'm just waiting for weekly updates on JJK and Frieren.
But ever since finishing Demon Slayer, seeing the movie (it's re-release from last week, can't wait for it to come out on Crunchyroll that way I can see it in English dubbed this time. Not that I don't mind subbed versions) and even finding the shorts Kimetsu academy AU I decided to have a crack at doing a couple of demon slayer fics so this one takes place in the Kimetsu Academy junior high and high school AU!! Now instead of a reader insert, this is an OC and OC is as said above a Shinazugawa, Sanemi's older twin sister and Genya's big sister.
Warnings: Swearing, violence (this is anime we're talking about here), anime shenanigans, protective Shinazugawa brothers, and fluffy fiery boi Rengoku's cuteness (yes I'm putting that as a warning *as Inosuke* IF YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT THEN FIGHT ME!!!!)
Welcome to Junior High and High School Kimetsu Academy! Here in our esteemed combined school our students learn the fundamentals and leave with the knowledge of how to navigate life and future work balance.
BOOM!!!
Well—so long as the school holds up.
KA-BOOM!!!!
“He’s at it again.” I said sighing. “Someone’s got to tell him we can’t keep using our school funding to fix his ‘artistic projects’.”
“Good luck with that sister. Remember the last time someone tried to do that?” my younger twin Sanemi said leaning back on his chair with his hands behind his head.
“Why do you enjoy bringing that up? My shoulder still hasn’t recovered since that day.” I said rubbing my right shoulder.
“You’re the one who brought it up. Reep what you’ve sown.” I glared at him and smacked him as I walked away from him. He gripped his head and growled at me.
“By the way, Genya told me he’s been made co-captain in the artillery club but for some reason someone had his club membership temporarily suspended. Any ideas as to how that came about?”
“His grades have been slipping as of late. I won’t allow our brother to slack off just because he’s been promoted in a club. If he has to go on suspension, then so be it.”
“So cold-hearted.” I muttered.
“And you’re a pushover.”
“Pushover huh? I’ll show you pushover!” we butted heads growling at each other like dogs ready to brawl until a voice spoke up.
“Alright, alright calm down you two. Seriously, is this any way to behave as teachers?” we both turned and Sanemi went red in the cheeks as standing there was the Biology teacher, Kanae Kocho. I smirked at my brother’s flushed cheeks knowing of his secret crush on her and I said as I giving Sanemi a pinch at his cheeks.
“Sorry Kanae-chan! Just a little sibling squabble. We promise not to do it again, right baby brother?”
“Just because you’re 12 minutes older than me doesn’t mean you can call me that!”
“Doesn’t make it false. Baby brother~.” I continued pinching his cheek like a child giggling before walking away leaving the two of them alone.
Oh any chance I can get to embarrass him in front of her is a treat. As I walked along the hallway back towards my classroom, I came across young Tanjiro Kamado and Zenitsu Agatsuma.
“Hmm? Oh Shinazugawa sensei!” Tanjiro greeted me.
“Good afternoon boys. Can I help you with something?”
“Actually yes. It may seem a bit personal but we’d like to ask. In light of Valentine’s day coming up, we were wondering….now you can choose to not answer. Like I said it does seem personal but we wanted to know how—”
“HOW DO WE GET BEAUTIFUL LADIES LIKE YOU TO NOTICE US!?!?” Zenitsu yelled out.
“Zenitsu I was getting to that in a more respectful way!” Tanjiro yelled at him.
“YOU WERE TAKING TOO LONG AND STALLING!!! Please Shinazugawa sensei! You’re one of the most popular female teachers and Mr. Rengoku, Mr. Uzui and even Mr. Giyu were absolutely useless in their advice!”
“Zenitsu!!” I stared at these two young boys perplexed before finally saying.
“I see. Well first things first Tomioka and Uzui really aren’t your best bet in getting personal advice. And another thing if you want advice from a woman’s perspective it’s simple really. Just be honest, but not aggressive. A girl will see you care for her that way without feeling unneeded pressure.”
The boys looked at me in awe. There was a sparkle in Tanjiro’s eyes while Zenitsu looked at me in awe. But that quickly faded as he stormed off in a huff.
“Not even she gave good advice. I’ll just be a wimp compared to everyone else! Being honest more like being timid!”
“Ehh?”
“Zenitsu!” Tanjiro yelled before turning back to me bowing as he kept saying “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” Before racing off after Zenitsu. I shook my head and continued on my way to my class.
When I arrived I saw a beautiful bouquet of tiger lilies in a beautiful hand carved kintsugi vase. My heart fluttered as I went over to my desk and found a card safely tucked away within the flower arrangement. I opened it up and smiled lovingly and kissed the card.
“Excuse me Shinazugawa sensei?” I jumped at the sudden voice and turned to see Kanao and Aoi.
“Oh girls you startled me.”
“So sorry sensei.” They both bowed. “We were wondering if we could talk to you about the English homework you assigned us. We’re still having some trouble understanding it.” Aoi said.
“Of course, come in have a seat and take it out.” Here at this academy not only do I teach Japanese Sign language but I also teach English since I did study aboard for a couple of years in America and thought the language was interesting to say the least. I set English as a more advance class while my JSL is the more standard class so for those advance students who wish to partake in English with me, are free to join my class.
I worked with the girls together in knowing the difference between adverbs and adjectives and how to structure a proper conjunction in a sentence. They did fairly well for trying it by themselves they just needed a bit more guidance in knowing the difference because some sentences (while it may make sense translated into our Japanese language, doesn’t fit right for a proper English sentence).
“Shinazugawa sensei, that’s a lovely bouquet you have.” Kanao said softly pointing over to my Valentine’s day gift. I looked over at it and smiled.
“Yes it is very lovely. And it came as quite a surprise, though not from the person who gave it to me. I did tell him tiger lilies were my favorite flowers.”
“Sensei do you mean to say that you have a boyfriend!?” Aoi exclaimed. I smirked and pressed a single finger to my lips giving her a wink.
“Even teachers have lives outside of school.” They may not look it but Aoi and Kanao both love a good gossip, especially for being part of the newspaper club in their spare time. Both of them run the entertainment reviews and horoscope section of the newspaper club to keep things entertaining in the club.
Their eyes sparkled with interest but I clapped my hands to get them to focus back on their work and they went right to work until the bell rang for free period to end and for everyone to get to their next class.
*3rd Person POV*
As the lunch bell rang all students and faculty were in their respected places to eat their lunch for the day. As Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Nezuko, Inosuke, Kanao and Aoi all ate their lunches, Aoi couldn’t help but buzz about what she had learned about her favorite teacher.
“Aoi are you okay?” asked Tanjiro.
“Did you guys know that Miss Shinazugawa has a boyfriend?” she blurted out.
“Ehhh!? No way! She can’t have a boyfriend!” Zenitsu exclaimed.
“It’s true though. Earlier today she had this bouquet of tiger lilies on her desk that weren’t there at the start of the day.” Aoi said.
“I think it’s sweet that someone gave her tiger lilies. I hear those are her favorite flowers.” Tanjiro said. “I remember when Nezuko gave her one at the start of the year.” Nezuko hummed as she nodded happily.
“I wonder who it could be though? Do you think it’s one of the other teachers here at this school?” Aoi pondered.
“Doubt her brother has a single soft feeling in his body to do that.” Zenitsu said.
“It could be a platonic love.” Tanjiro said.
“Not likely since we saw her kiss the note that came with it.” Aoi said eating her onigiri.
“Plus those two lately have been at each other’s throats when no one’s looking. But I see everything Ahahahaha!” Inosuke laughed as he stuffed his face with his lunch.
“Why can’t you just use your chopsticks?” Zenitsu groaned.
“Shut up! If you have a problem with it then fight me!!” Inosuke shouted as he slammed his fist on top of Zenitsu’s head. Zenitsu groaned in pain as Tanjiro sweat dropped staring at his two friends. He turned back to the girls and asked Kanao.
“So was it really that serious?”
“Mm-hmm. She had a loving look in her eyes. I never see Miss Shinazugawa look at anything that longingly.” Kanao said softly.
“And as a reporter I can’t leave this research unopened like this. I’m gonna find out just who Shinazugawa sensei’s boyfriend is! And you lot are gonna help me!”
“EHHHH!?!”
“WHY IN THE HELL WOULD WE HELP YOU!?” Zenitsu proclaimed.
“Because you all owe me! Or shall I tell Tomioka sensei on why you guys really skipped out on gym class last week?” the boys froze before submitting to the blackmail that now hung over their heads. “Alright then it’s settled.”
“Umm instead of doing a full on investigation during class, why don’t we just ask her brother?” Tanjiro said.
“I don’t know if asking Mr. Shinazugawa is the best option. He scares me too much.” Aoi trembled.
“Oh no, no, no, no, no, no I meant her other brother. The one who’s in me and Kanao’s Civics class. Genya.”
“Oh but I thought he hated you Tanjiro?” Aoi asked with a head tilt.
“No, no he doesn’t hate me. He’s actually mellowed out since Miss Shinazugawa talked to him when we had that project together for her class. Besides they seem pretty close with each other, Genya is always talking about how much he loves and respects his big sister. I’m sure if anyone were to know any secret of hers, it’d be him.”
“Hmm okay. Well there’s still a bit of time left for lunch, right? Let’s go talk to him before lunch is over. Let’s—where’s Inosuke?” the gang looked around to see that Inosuke wasn’t in his seat.
“Knowing that guy he’s probably gonna cause some chaos before class resumes. Lunch time is his planning period usually.” Zenitsu said. They all nodded in agreement, after all this was Inosuke they were talking about. No one knew what really went on in that wild child’s head except chaos and mayhem.
The gang left the cafeteria and headed towards the room where Genya usually ate his meals. On a bench just outside of the library. Since slipping his grades, Sanemi has enforced threatened for him to be outside the library so that he could do whatever studying he needed to do for the next week until his grades went back up.
“Oi Genya!” Tanjiro called out. Genya looked up from his bento box (food handmade by his sister) and said.
“We were wondering something Genya-san, is your sister dating anyone?” Aoi asked bluntly.
“Huh? Wh-why would you want to know about my sister’s dating life?” Genya asked as his face went red.
“She had a bouquet of tiger lilies sent to her when Kanao-chan and I went to her classroom for some extra help before her class this afternoon. And she told us in secret code that even teachers had lives outside of school. So that’s safe to assume she’s got a boyfriend. So do you know who it is or not?”
“How should I know? I don’t ask her personal stuff like that. Although she plays the big sister card into getting at me about my personal dating life. So annoying being the youngest out of the three of us.”
“So you don’t have any idea as to who your sister’s secret admirer is?” asked Zenitsu.
“Nope. Not one clue. And even if I did, I still wouldn’t tell you. I respect her too much to betray her trust like that. Plus she’d kill me. Trust me you’ve all seen how my brother can get when he’s angry, well it’s nothing compared to my sister’s wrath.” Genya shuddered as he went pale. “I swear she really was a tiger in a previous life.”
“Well we—”
“GET BACK HERE HASHIBARA!!!” Sanemi’s voice roared through the halls. Everyone froze in fear. Mr. Shinazugawa always had a temper but when someone really pissed him off, the entire school knew it.
It was like a volcano had erupted and hot lava filled the entire school from his steaming hot rage. Inosuke’s laughter could be heard as they saw Inosuke charging head on towards them.
“Ino—OOMF!!”
“Quick in here!” Inosuke shoved all of them into the library and he used the chairs to barricade them all in as the door began slamming with each knock from Sanemi.
“OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR YOU BRAT!! SAY WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT MY SISTER AGAIN!! I DARE YOU!!”
“Inosuke what did you do!?!?” Tanjiro yelled at him.
“Well you said talk to her brother so I headed over to scar-face’s classroom and asked him who was sleeping with his sister and—” Genya at that point saw red and punched Inosuke in the face.
“DON’T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT MY BIG SISTER THAT WAY!!” him and Inosuke proceeded to brawl it out shouting at each other all while the door continued to bang loudly until it exploded off its hinges taking the chairs with it.
“You…..” Sanemi growled. His aura almost seemed demonic as he stood at the door of the library his eyes seeing nothing but red. Tanjiro and the others began to cower in the corner fearfully as Zenitsu screamed out fearfully.
“THE OLD GUY’S ON A RAMPAGE! WE’RE ALL GONNA GET KILLED!!” Genya turned towards his brother stopping his brief brawl with Inosuke as Sanemi turned to glare at him.
“Did you know about this?” Sanemi growled.
“You think I wouldn’t already be fighting with him if I had known? Of course I didn’t! I’ll defend nee-san’s honor with my very life on the line.”
“Good. Now hold him steady while I teach this punk some real discipline.” Sanemi said cracking his knuckles, a malice look in his eyes and a wide spread grin of insanity spread across his face. Genya obeyed his big brother and held Inosuke in an full nelson.
But before anything could happen, Sanemi and Genya both felt hit them in the head before feeling something pinch and twist the tips of their ears hard. They both exclaimed in pain as they were both on their knees saying ‘ow’ repeatedly while a voice said.
“I know, I know, I know.” They both looked up to see their sister Izumi.
*My POV*
It’s unbelievable of just how loud Sanemi can be when he needs to be. I swear he’s even worse than Uzui when he’s on one of his many art projects. I raced over to the library to see the doors had actually been kicked down. Oh Principal Amane will not be happy to see this.
But my blood boiled when I saw my two brothers about to beat Inosuke into a pulp. I took off my shoes and threw them right at my brother’s heads before stomping over and grabbed their ears just like I used to when we were kids and they got into fights with each other.
As my brothers exclaimed in pain and froze in their place and looked up at me.
“What the hell do you both think you’re doing?! You two have put me in an impossible position right now.” I turned towards the kids and asked Inosuke. “Inosuke, can you stand?”
“Yeah, yeah I had them on the ropes sensei.” He said wiping his bloody nose.
“Tanjiro, Zenitsu, take Inosuke to Lady Tamayo. Aoi, Nezuko, Kanao, you three go to my classroom and on the top left drawer of my desk are some excuse passes. Take those and write your names on them to give them to your next teachers. And also tell my current class that the lesson is cancelled for the day. I’ve got to teach these two a lesson.” I glared down at my brothers who shuddered as they looked down at me sweating nervously.
I pulled them up onto their feet and lead them out of the library and towards the roof. Not once letting go of their ears. I kicked open the door to the roof and tossed the two of them down to the ground before closing the door. The sound of the winter winds was the only sound that came through the roof before I shouted at them furiously.
“NOW EXPLAIN YOURSELVES!!! Genya I thought your brother and I taught you better than to start fights with your peers. We wanted you to be better than us. And what the hell were you thinking Sanemi!? You’re a teacher at this school and you were about to beat up a student by having our brother as your accomplice! I swear if Director Ubuykashi doesn’t expel you both for this, you better bet that I’ll give you hell for this later!”
“Sister…..”
“I am not your sister at this point Genya! I am your teacher and you will address me as such!” I snapped.
“Sorry Sensei Shinazugawa.”
“Izumi if you had heard what that punk kid just said to me, you’d be—”
“It doesn’t matter what happened Sanemi! What matters is how you reacted. Do you think it’s fair for a teacher to beat up on a student, let along have another student hold said victim whilst you beat him up outnumbering him!?”
My brothers remained silent. I took a sharp breath in while ringing my fingers through my hair.
“I’m willing to hear you guys out now. But only if you keep it unbiased and professional. Sanemi, you can start.”
“I was eating my lunch in my classroom while grading some papers when Hashibira stormed in and literally asked me, ‘Oi Scar-face sensei! Who’s your sister been sleeping with?!’” my eyes widened when Genya spoke up to add his side of the story.
“Tanjiro and the others were asking me because the girls had seen your tiger lily bouquet earlier today and they wanted to ask me if you were seeing anyone. That’s when Inosuke barricaded us in the library and said he had asked big brother the same question. But Tanjiro had said they meant talking to me and not him. When I heard how Inosuke spoke his question, I lost it. I don’t care if he is one of my friends, they don’t get to talk in that manner about you!”
Well shit. Guess I let my light teasing with the girls go too far and Aoi got too deeply involved in wanting to crack the case. Damn that girl’s intuitive curiosity. I let out another deep, sharp exhale.
“Well you both were lucky this is Inosuke Hashibira we’re talking about. Kid could get run over by a bus and walk away unscathed. Had it been anyone else and we’d be getting some serious repercussions for this incident.” My brothers bowed respectfully to me both of them saying.
“We’re sorry sister. Please forgive us.” I shook my head at them as I walked over to them and placed my hand on both of their heads giving them a soft ruffle. They looked up at me and I said.
“I know things hadn’t been easy since mom and the others died in that car accident 2 years ago. And while I appreciate you guys looking out for me as much as I do you two, there are times when you need to step back and let me handle things on my own. Just like I do for the both of you.” I patted Sanemi’s cheek softly while I stroked Genya’s cheek before standing back up and walked away from them.
I leaned against the cages along the roof as the wind blew my hair about and I said.
“Though truthfully this whole mess is technically my fault. I guess I should’ve told you both the truth from the start. It is true, I have been seeing someone. In fact we’ve been seeing each other for the past six months.”
“EHH SIX MONTHS!?!” they both exclaimed.
“Why the hell didn’t you say anything?!” Sanemi exclaimed.
“Because I knew how you both would react to news like this! Be real here Sanemi everytime I bring a guy home, you scare them every single time. So much so they never try to call me again because they’re afraid of the two bears I have for brothers. But the man I’m seeing right now, he really does want to do things right. And knowing you guys already, he believes now is the time to come clean.”
“Wait we know him?” Genya asked. “Who is he?”
“I’ll tell him at the end of school that he can come over to have dinner with us. Meanwhile I want you both to promise me something,” I turned towards them with a stone, cold glare. My eyes almost like staring into the eyes of a wild tiger. “I want you both to be on your best behavior. Which means no interrogations, no ominous staring, and no kill chanting. We will have a calm, quiet dinner the four of us. Are we understood?”
Sanemi and Genya looked at each other and nodded to each other before they both bowed to me again.
“We promise sister.”
“Now come with me, we need to talk to Principal Ubuykashi about what happened before she hears it from someone else. We’ll all take responsibility for what happened and pay for any damages that’ll come with it.” They followed right behind me with no complaints.
Later that night I was doing the final checks for dinner to make sure we had enough. Lord knows that man has quite the appetite but I guess that’s one of the many things I love about him.
“Izumi, do I really have to wear this monkey suit?” Sanemi grumbled as he fumbled with his tie. I went up to him and fixed it as well as his collar.
“Yes. It’s only for one night Sanemi. If you can handle wearing a tie for open house, you can handle it for one small dinner here at home. Now behave yourself and go help Genya set up the table.” I handed him the first tray of food and my younger twin headed towards the dining area to set the food down. The doorbell rang and I cried out. “Will someone get that?! I still need to check the curry!”
“I got it!” Genya called out. I went over to the pot to check on the curry when his voice proclaimed loud and proud.
“Ahh greetings young Genya! I’m pleased to be having dinner with you and your brother and sister tonight!”
“R-Rengoku sensei?” I smiled already picturing Genya’s shocked face at seeing his favorite teacher being my boyfriend.
“Rengoku? You mean you’re the one who’s…..” Sanemi started off.
“Ahh Sanemi! Thank you for allowing me to join you and your family for dinner this lovely evening.” I knew Kyojuro was probably giving him a respectful bow. “I hope this don’t take me to be rude but I brought along some red bean mochi! Izumi did say it was your favorite after all.”
“Uhh thanks. Please come in.”
“Thank you very much.” I smiled as I did one final taste test for the curry and deemed it ready to be eaten. “Ahh everything smells delicious! No doubt the food was well prepared by an excellent chef!”
“Flattery will get you everywhere with me Kyo-kun.” I said coming in with the curry.
“Ahh tiger lily. Good to see you at last. I trust you liked my present earlier today?”
“I did indeed. The lilies were beautiful. And you got my new favorite style of pottery as the vase? You know me so well.”
“I’ll always make sure to cater to your every wish and desire! Oh that pot seems hot, let me help you with that.”
“Now, now Kyojuro you are our guest. I’m capable of handling things from here.”
“Please I insist, it’s no trouble at all. No doubt you worked very hard preparing all of us this meal.” He looked into my eyes with that strong loving gaze of his and I sighed softly.
“Must you be such a gentleman all the time? It’s so hard to argue with you when you act so sweet.”
“Only the best for you my tiger lily.” He reached for the curry bowl, his fingers brushing against mine as he took it out of my hands and headed towards the table to set it down. I turned towards my brothers to see them both looking at us with those dumbfounded looks of theirs. I stuck my tongue out at them before trotting over to the table to finish the last bit of table setting it needed just before dinner.
We all sat down at the table and thanked for the meal before finally digging into our meal. And of course after the first bite of his meal, Kyojuro let out a loud and prideful.
“TASTY!” with each bite of his meal, Kyojuro kept proclaiming out ‘tasty’.
“So Mr. Rengoku, my sister says you both have been dating for six months now.” Genya said hesitantly.
“TASTY!” Kyojuro proclaimed out. “Yes. We first began our relationship close to the start of the new school year. After working together for some time, I had finally worked up the courage to tell her just how she truly set my heart ablaze.” I blushed lightly turning downward as I played with my hair.
“And you willingly kept this secret for her?”
“She didn’t wish to make things awkward or uncomfortable for us during our work hours. But I have introduced her to my younger brother Senjuro a couple of times. My father’s meeting was—something but it’s all in the past. All I know is that I truly love and care for your sister’s happiness and wellbeing. And I’m willing to do anything to see her smile every day.”
With that dinner continued on without too much hassle or arguments.
After having some coffee Kyojuro saw that it was getting late and that he should get a move on and head home. I walked Kyojuro out of the apartment complex and towards his car.
“I think it went well.” He told me.
“You think so?”
“Of course! Knowing Sanemi’s anger I’d say I’ve won him over. Not once did he seem angry at all throughout the dinner. Same could be said about young Genya.”
“Well Sanemi’s lucky to still have his job. Both he and Genya starting tomorrow will have to repair the broken doors to the library and do some community work with the librarian every day after school for the next 2 weeks in order to make up for that scene they both caused.”
“At least they’re both taking responsibility for their actions. Shows true character. They really do love you.”
“Yeah they’re sometimes a huge pain in the ass but I wouldn’t want anyone else to be my little brothers. We’re all each other has now.”
“Not anymore my tiger lily.” He took my chin between his fingers so that I could look at him. “You also have me. For as long as you’ll have me, I’ll stand at your side not only for you but your brothers as well. I consider Sanemi a good friend and colleague, and your little brother Genya is a good kid with a fierce, passionate drive. I can see him going far in life if given the chance.”
“Thanks Kyo-kun. Get home safely, send me a text when you get there.”
“Will do. Have sweet dreams my love.” He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to my lips before getting into his car and starting the engine. The headlights came on and I stepped back onto the curb and walked towards the stairs and gave him a final wave before blowing him a kiss.
He caught it and pressed it to his heart before blowing me one too and soon drove back home. I walked up the stairs back to the apartment and shut the door before locking it.
“Well, can’t say I was expecting him to drop by.” Sanemi said munching on a red bean mochi that Kyojuro had brought over.
“I did say that you both knew him.”
“It kinda felt a little awkward cause I thought I’d have to raise my hand to ask him if he could pass the rice bowl.” Genya said.
“Well luckily for you, you only need to refer to him as sensei on school grounds. Any other time he’ll accept you being informal with him.” I ruffled Genya’s head before heading over to the table only to see it was already cleaned up. “Did you guys….”
“You already put so much into making the dinner, it was only fair that Genya and I allow you to say goodbye to your boyfriend.”
“So you guys approve?” I asked.
“At least it wasn’t Uzui or worse Tomioka.” Sanemi growled Tomioka’s name offendedly. “Rengoku is the best choice if you had to date someone from work so—yeah. He’s got my approval. Just don’t let me catch you both making out in the supply closet! We’re teacher’s and need to set a good example for our students and pupils.”
“You’re literally quoting me to me, you do realize that right?”
“Yes. And I love it when I can throw your own words back in your face.” Sanemi huffed pridefully. I shook my head and turned to Genya and asked him.
“Genya, it won’t be too awkward for you will it? I know he’s one of your favorite teachers.”
“I’ll learn to get used to it but like big bro said. He’s a good guy who clearly loves you. I approve big sis.” I smiled and went over to my little brothers and brought them both into a hug and kissed their cheeks.
“I love you guys, thank you.” Genya wrapped his arms around me leaning his head on top of mine and even though Sanemi tried to play the ‘tough guy’ act, he too wrapped an arm around me and he pressed his face into my hair accepting my embrace in the end.
Should We Stay or Should We Go? || Chapter Thirteen
-A ST Rewrite Feat. Steve Harrington x Henderson!OFC-
Main Masterlist || Series Masterlist
🎲Summary: When Hopper unexpectedly goes MIA, Steve is tasked with finding El after she suddenly disappears. Meanwhile, Mike encourages Will to open up, “Bob The Brain” tackles a difficult problem, and the Hendersons try to get rid of a major pest.
🎲Pairings: Will x Platonic!OFC; Dustin x Sister!OC; Slow burn! Steve x Henderson!OFC (Ex-bestfriends to Lovers); Eddie x Platonic!OFC; Slow burn! Byler
🎲Rating: Teen-Mature
🎲Word Count: 12,357
🎲Date: 2/04/26
🎲Warnings: Heavy Angst, Language & Dialogue; Mental Strain/Breaking Down; Talks of Dying & Being Brought Back; Lying; Death & Burial of A Pet; Getting Choking; Blood & Seizures; Mention of Killing/Burning; Mention of Nightmares; Implied Possession; Will Deserves A Nice Vacation; Eddie & Steve Being MVPs again. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK
(And let me know if I missed anything)
🎲A/N: A bit heads up, for the story to make sense (and to make it a little more length-y), I took a scene from the next episode and put into here. Which I will say I'll probably be doing the same for the next chapter since I've cut out the Eleven & Jancy scenes. Hope this is still up to your standards. I didn't think this chapter was my best work, but here y'all go. Enjoy!
(Side note: I've Beta this once! But I'll reread and correct any mistakes later :)
Steve closes his car door before moving through the woods at a depressing pace. At this point the teenager just wanted to stress eat Eggos and blast sad music on his radio… And maybe do homework, who knows? Maybe something else shitty will happen to him.
Can the new year start already? Steve applied the secret knock on the door and waited. Should I do homework already and then zone out?
Gosh there’s too many thoughts going around in his head. How was he even going to go through them all? He knocks again and waits. 60 seconds go by, and Steve checks his watch. Hopper shouldn’t be home yet, so that means he and El aren’t outside checking the preminator. So, does that mean she’s still mad about the grounding? But why would she be mad at him? He didn’t do anything.
Right?
He knocks again. “Eleven? You awake?” He leans his ear against the door. “El?” Another knock, another round of silence that made the dread set in. She didn’t… leave again, did she?
He felt his heart sink as he pounded his fists. “Eleven!! Open the door! Eleven!” He starts patting around his pockets for a key, but then realizes that Hopper never actually gave him a key for any kind of emergency. “Shit.”
Steve drops his bags, taking a small step back before laying heavy kicks to the door. After about the eighth kick the door bursts open. “Eleven!” His eyes frantically looked around the empty living room and kitchen before beelining for her bedroom. He enters to see she wasn’t there, before running around the rest of the cabin for any signs of the girl. “El! Where are you?”
He opens the last door, the bathroom, sprinting over to throw the shower curtain bath to make sure every last itch of this place was checked for. He runs back to the front porch, yelling, “ELEVEN!!!” His voice echoed out into the cold, and felt his chest get tight. “Shit.” He can’t believe it. “Fucking… shit!”
He knew she was mad, knew she wanted to go out and explore -- and he doesn’t blame her; He’s been trying to convince Hopper to speed up the process to make sure she could go out safely with the help of Doctor Owens -- but couldn’t she have at least waited for him? Steve’s sure if she just batted her eyes enough he would have broken down and at least taken her to the pond not too far from here (It was secluded enough that no one hardly ever went, so they wouldn’t have to worry).
“Shit…” He rushes back inside, straight for the radio that Hopper left for them to use Morse Code. He quickly did the code for SOS and waited. Patiently, patiently waited. He gave it roughly ten minutes before throwing all caution out the window. I mean, they’re already in potential danger because she left, so why not add more fuel to the flames. He picked up the receiver, holding it close to his lips. “Hopper, it’s Steve. Before you yell at me, we have a serious problem. My sister, Evelyn, is missing and I really need your help.”
He waited again, and still nothing. “Hopper?” He grits his teeth. “God, damn it.” Steve gets up from his seat and heads for the phone, speed dialing the police station. He hears Flo’s unamused ‘Hello’. “Hi, it’s Steve Harrington. I uh, I’ve been trying to contact the Police Chief to follow up with an issue, but I’m having no luck reaching his personal. Is he at the office by any chance?”
[ ‘No, I haven’t seen Jim physically today. But I did speak to him this morning. He had to take a house call.’ ]
Shit. He could feel his heart pounding now with anxiety. “So… do you know when he’ll be back?”
[ ‘To the station? *scoffs* I’d be lucky to see him in the morning… which I highly doubt.’ ]
“Okay. Uh… t-thank you.” He hangs up before she could give a reply, and Steve was left gripping his hair. “Oh, my god… why now?” He was already fucking stressed with everything else, and now this just had to happen?! And especially now that Hopper isn’t even here?
Alright, stay calm, Harrington. How do you find her in a big town like this? He was starting to doubt himself, but then he remembers this isn’t his first rodeo. He did this once last year when she disappeared after flinging Lucas. It was a tedious task, but he did in fact find her.
He lets out a long sigh. “Okay.” Steve starts searching for a flashlight for later. “Let’s do this.”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
“It’s like... It’s like I feel what the shadow monster’s feeling.” Will whispers, as Mike looks around at his drawings hung up (a mixture of different emotions cross as he tries to process what he’s seeing). “See what he’s seeing.”
Mike finally flashes him a worried look, his poor friend was super pale while also being drenched in head-to-toe sweat. “Like in the Upside Down?”
“Some of him is there. But some of him is here, too.”
“Here, like, in this house?”
“In this house and…” Will chokes, his hands twitching in his lap. “In me. It’s like... It’s like he’s reaching into Hawkins more and more. And the more he spreads, the more connected to him I feel.”
“And the more you see these now-memories.” Mike says, sitting down on the bed beside him.
“At first I just felt it in the back of my head.” He subconsciously touches his neck. “I didn’t even really know it was there. It’s like when you have a dream and you can’t remember it unless you think really hard. It was like that. But now it’s like…” He shutters, tears started welling up again. “Now I remember. I remember all the time.”
“Maybe…” Mike chooses his words carefully, softly. “Maybe that’s good.”
Will flinches slightly. “G-Good?”
“Just think about it, Will. You’re like a spy now. A superspy. Spying on the shadow monster. If you know what he’s seeing and feeling... maybe that’s how we can stop him. Maybe all of this–” Mike gestures to the drawings. “Is happening for a reason.”
“You really think so?” Will asks, sniffling.
“Yeah. Yeah, I really do.” Mike says, as his friend’s eyes land on his drawing of the Shadow Monster, the one standing at the arcade just a few nights ago.
Will flinches again, truly terrified of what that thing was, and what it could possibly do. “What if… what if he figures out we’re spying on him? What if he spies back? What if he hurts Stephanie?”
“He won’t.”
“How do you know?”
Mike places his hand on top of Will’s shaking one. “We won’t let him. Nothing is going to hurt you. Nothing is going to hurt Stephanie. We won’t let anything happen to any of you. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
And that’s the reason for the unexpected nightly stay. Mike doesn’t know how, but he’s going to get to the bottom of whatever this is.
.
.
After Mrs. Wheeler was informed of the sleepover, the boys were sent to bed, while Joyce continued trying to contact Hopper. But as her youngest slept, something was happening…
Something that he couldn’t quite explain.
Something that the Shadow Monster wanted him to see.
Something really terrifying–
.
.
He could hear Hopper’s screams, and vines trapping him in his place, as he slowly started suffocating from the toxic air, and–
.
.
Will woke up the next morning with a loud gasp. His heart was racing, his body drenched as he fearfully looked around the room.
“Will?” Mike said, from his sleeping spot on the floor. “What’s wrong?”
“H-Hopper…” Will whispers, as he throws the covers off and gets off the bed. “I think he’s in trouble.”
“What?”
Will rushes around the house until he finds his mother, who is sitting on the living room floor still trying to decipher what all her son’s drawings really meant. Did she not sleep? No– Now’s not the time for that question.
“Mom?” He touches her shoulder. “Mom?”
She jumps at the touch slightly, startled, but relaxes when she sees who it was. “Yeah?”
“I saw him.”
Joyce tilts her head. “You saw who, baby?”
“Hopper. I think he’s in trouble… I think he’s going to die.”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Steve plops down the exact change on the desk, the sound itself getting the barista’s attention. The older woman chuckles when she sees who it was.
“Well, what a surprise. It’s little Steven.” She said, picking up his payment and putting it in the register. “It’s not Sunday yet. What are you doin’ here? Shouldn’t you be in school?”
“Uh, yeah. But, um, I was out looking for our dog all night.” He lies, putting up a fake, worried smile too.
“I can tell.” She points to the forming dark circles under his eyes. “I’m surprised your parents allowed you to finally get a dog. What changed their mind?”
“Uh, time I guess.”
“Mmm, hmm. I guess so.” She starts making him regular. “You want a pastry?”
He shakes his head. “Uh, no thanks, Rhonda.”
“Why? You not hungry?” She raises an eyebrow. “‘Cause you look it.”
“I really don’t–”
“You’re gettin’ a pastry.” She cuts in, sliding it across the counter to him before bringing over his drink. “It’s on the house.”
“Thank you.” He takes them and heads back to his car. He sighs while he sinks in his leather seats, exhaustion hitting him hard. He spent pretty much all night looking for Eleven -- driving through nearby neighbourhoods, wandering around the woods, even circling back home to see if she came back, but alas, she was nowhere to be found.
Where could she have gone? Dread starts to seep in again as he checks his watch. Did she… try to see Mike again?
It was a possibility. A very stupid idea though. I mean, broad daylight? Hello? Would she really be that dumb? Or even that desperate? But then he flinches when he reminds himself of how old she is. He’s been 12 years old before, and has made some dumb decisions at that age (I mean, who hasn’t?).
Did she go to the school again? Steve shakes his head though. No. I mean she definitely went to see Mike, but at least the last time she did she waited until school was over. So is she waiting nearby?
He checked his watch again like it was going to drastically change. Hours would have to fly by for school to be finished, and as much as she was eager to see her friend, Steve knows she can become very impatient sometimes. There’s no way she would sit by and wait almost 8 hours in the shadows to just see him.
He sighs as he finishes his pastry. Okay. Then where could she be?
He gently tosses the empty bag into the passenger seat, a mental note that he’ll clean up later, when something catches his eye. Steve shifts in his seat, reaching over to pull something out from between the seats. His eyes go wide as he stares at Nancy’s pink sweater.
Shit. I forgot some of her stuff is still here. Surprisingly he’s been good at navigating Nancy away from his new home when they were still together. No one knows that he’s been disowned by his parents and unofficially adopted by the town’s Police Chief. And until he knows Eleven is safe living here, his mouth will remain shut. But that’s why her stuff was still here, they would usually hang out at her place, or just park the car by some lake and enjoy themselves there.
If he wanted to be an ass he could just toss everything out, but he wasn’t going to be. Despite the wound still being fresh, he was going to be the good guy and return her belongings. Should I go now? Or would her parents find it weird that I’m skipping school?
He thought about it, but he stopped himself. Yeah, that’ll be weird. Although, I could use the dog excuse again.
But will they believe his lies? And… why is he suddenly backtracking? He needs to find El! He doesn’t have time to–
And then it hit him.
Nancy wasn’t the only one living there.
Mike lives there too.
And El was hiding out in his little sanctuary downstairs after she escaped the lab. She knows that place like the back of her hand. So does that mean she could be…
But Steve was already turning the car back on; His mind was going a million miles a minute. His theory was a bit of a stretch, but he rather have that debunked before his very eyes than letting it float around his head for him to potentially regret.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Lucas was picking at his breakfast, a lingering question was in the air as he listened to his Dad hurtling a warning towards his little sister about the over use of maple syrup. Just like everyone else in his friend group, he was also having a problem that he didn’t know how to deal with. After sparing some nervous glances to the clock, noticing that he’ll have to leave for school soon, he finally swallows his nerves to ask for advice.
“Dad?” His father, Charles, hums in acknowledgement while still reading his paper. “When Mom’s mad at you, how do you make her not mad?”
“Oh, that’s a great question.” Sue Sinclair said, as she came to sit down with her and her husband’s plate. “How do you, hon?”
“First, I apologize. Then, I get your mother whatever she wants.” He replies, as his son’s brows pinch together in confusion.
“Even when she’s wrong?”
Charles sends him a dead serious look. “She’s never wrong, son.”
“That’s right.” Sue chuckles, before glancing over at her oldest. “Not hungry?”
“Not really.” Lucas said, his mind made up about how he’s going to approach Max. He gets up from his chair, slinging his backpack on as he was eager to get to school now. “Thanks for the advice.”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Claudia Henderson came back inside the house after spending an hour outside to look for her missing cat. She sees her son off to the side, and with tears in her eyes she asks, “Dusty, baby, you’re sure she’s not in your room?”
Dustin holds one finger up, the universal signal for her to keep quiet ‘cause he was (pretending) to be on the phone. “Uh-huh – Thank you so much, Mr. McCorkle – Thank you so much. You are a true lifesaver – Alright, this was great. Thank you – Alright. Have a good one. Bye-bye, now.” He places it back on the receiver, mustering up his best joyful expression to fool his mother. “Alright, great news.”
“They found her?” She asks, hopefully.
“No. But they saw her wandering around Loch Nora.”
“Ohhh. How did the poor baby get all the way out there?”
“I don’t know. Lost, I guess. But they’re gonna look for her. And I’ll stay here, just in case they call again. And you’re gonna go help look?” He asks, as she nods eagerly. “Yeah? Perfect. And Stephanie said once she’s done with school, she’s going to look around the area. Alright?” She nods again as he holds out his arm. “Give me a hug.” She does, and he squeezes her reassuringly before she pulls away. “Go get her. You’re gonna find her.”
“Okay.” Claudia says, hyping herself up as she heads for the door.
“We can find her.”
“We can find her.”
“I love you.” Dustin blows her a kiss, making her smile.
“I love you.” She replies, just as she steps outside. Once she officially leaves, Dustin drops the act and rushes outside to the storm cellar. He quickly opens the doors, his sister comes stumbling out.
“Well?” She asks, while double checking if the coast was clear.
“I just told her that Eddie picked you up early, and that a made up neighbour saw Mews by Loch Nora.”
“Loch Nora?” Steph repeats, getting a nod. “That’ll give us plenty of time. You get the food, I’ll grab the gear.”
The two siblings broke off, each task with setting up this hopefully perfect plan. Dustin starts lining up a trail of bologna from his bedroom, towards the backdoor, and ends at the cellar. Steph grabs all their old sports gear -- her old catcher equipment from softball, and her brother’s goalie equipment from hockey. Once dressed, Dustin carefully tested his swing and grip on his hockey stick since he was wearing oven mitts for protection.
“I thought you were grabbing your old bat?” He asks, noticing his sister was holding the hunting knife her friend Jeff gave her instead.
“My bat’s too small now for the target. Besides, you have way better hand-eye coordination than I do. This–” She gestures to her weapon. “Is for backup in case you miss. You ready?”
He shakes his head, heading to his bedroom. “Alright, Dart. Breakfast time.” He announces, his sister reaching over him to open the door.
“Go!” She rushed, as the two of them were off.
“Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God–” Dustin trembles under his breath as they finally make it outside. “Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit–”
“Dusty, calm down, and stay quiet.” Steph says once they make it into the shed.
Two pairs of blue eyes peeked through the cracks of the wooden shed, anxiously waiting. Soon, they saw Dart coming through the back door, happily eating the trail of lunchmeat left out for him. Steph locks eyes with her brother, as he shakes head once again, igniting the signal. She carefully, and quietly, places her hand on the latch of the shed, Dustin regripping his hockey stick in anticipation. They continued watching as it got closer and closer to the cellar, and when Dustin felt confident enough, he gave her his silent answer–
She throws open the door, the boy rushing out while screaming his war cry. Dart snaps his body around just in time as Dustin takes aim and swings the stick into him, making his target. Stephanie was right behind him, moving in to close the doors. She uses her whole body weight to keep them closed as her brother moves in with the lock and chain. Once secured, the two Hendersons could finally relax a bit.
“I’m sorry.” Dustin mutters with a pant. “But you ate our cat.”
Steph lets out a tired groan while slipping off her mask. “Jesus Christ. I can’t believe that worked.”
“Y-Yeah.” He takes off his too, giving themselves a moment until they could properly breath before asking, “How’d you kill it? How’d you and Will kill the Demogorgon?”
“Besides guns? Fire. We used anything that’s flammable. These things hate the heat.”
“Okay. So, we just need to burn him? That should be easy to do.”
She makes a face. “Not sure if that’s a good idea. I mean, when we killed it, we trapped in an abandoned building. One wrong move on our half and we burn our house down. Or the neighbourhood.”
He frowns. “True. I didn’t even think of that.”
“We need another plan.”
“Yeah, but what?”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Eddie arrives at school a bit later than usual because he forgot to reset his alarm. It was 100 percent his fault though, he and the guys stayed up later than usual after he presented them with information about what was going on with Stephanie. So, he was jogging to class, in an outfit that he may or may not have just picked up off the floor (i.e. His worn down ‘Iron Maiden’ band tee, ripped jeans, and a leather jacket. His hair that was supposed to wash yesterday was thrown back into a messy ponytail), and prays he wasn’t late to class. He felt bad that he didn’t even get to properly say ‘Good morning’ to any of his friends.
At least I got to wave at Grant in passing. He enters the classroom, already pulling out his Science textbook and his chicken scratch notes before he even sits down. He collapsed in his designated desk, sighing a bit of relief when his teacher started the class.
“See?” He whispers, a smile playing on his face. “I woke up late, and I still got here right on the–” His eyes meant the absent desk next to him. His expression fell and was replaced with worry. Where the hell is she?
Unlike the rest of Hellfire, Stephanie was never late to anything. You tell her one time and she’ll be there at that time. She was the ‘rather be an hour early than an hour late’ type of person. His brows pushed together as he recalled their conversation from yesterday. She told him she would be here.
Did something happen again? Now the dread was starting to set in. The scene from that field flashed before his mind, making his stomach turn.
.
“-However, something happened in those seven days that even the media doesn’t know about. Why? I don’t know, and maybe the truth is as crazy as she suggested. But we have to do something because I can’t witness another moment like what happened with her in the field. I can’t. And I’m sure you guys don’t want to witness that again either.”
It was bad enough when he found his mom in the state she was before she passed, and that’s all Eddie could see when he was at the field yesterday. He’s already lost one family member, he ain’t gonna lose another. And that’s what was going through the rest of the club members’ heads.
Grant decides to ask the number one question on all their minds, “So, what do you want to do?”
.
And that’s when they all agreed that when they would go to school the next day they would all take her aside, somewhere private and quiet, and just talk it out. That, and apologize. Eddie still hasn’t told her ‘sorry’ for laughing at her the other night. But now that he sees that her seat is empty, he might have to tweak their plans already. The question is does he do it now? Or later?
Yet, his gut made a weird turn again which was a good enough answer for him. Fuck this. I always have next year to graduate.
Eddie gets up to his feet, his chair scraping across the floor loud enough for everyone to suddenly stare at him. He abruptly grabs his things and heads for the door, Mrs. Trebecky was already shouting his name.
“Mr. Munson? Munson. Where are you going? Munson! Get back here–”
The door closes behind him, and Eddie breaks into a run again.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
“Max?”
The redhead turns around, faced with a girl she swore she’s seen in one of her classes. Her brows pinched together in confusion, as she asked, “Yeah. Who’s asking?”
“Hi, I’m Tracy.” The freckled face brunette says, as she waves. “Not that it’s important right now. Mr. Clarke needs you in the AV room.”
“Why?” Max asks, defensively. “What did I do?”
“I don’t know. But he needs to see you.”
Why didn’t he just get me himself? Max doesn’t say anything else as she closes her locker shut, and marches towards the said room, with Tracy on her tail. She opens up the door to the AV room, her confusion suddenly forms into annoyance when she sees who’s in there. “Seriously?”
Lucas flashes her a reassuring smile before looking at his other classmate. “Thank you, Tracy.”
“I better see those ice cream sandwiches on my tray every school day, Sinclair.” Tracy replies, sharply before closing the door.
“What is this shit, stalker?!” Max snaps, as he holds his hands up.
“Sorry. I just needed a safe place.”
“A safe place to what? Be creepy?”
“Listen. I’m gonna tell you the truth about everything that happened last year. But if anyone finds out, you could be arrested.” Lucas frowns warily. “Possibly killed.”
“Killed?” She said, not taking his words seriously.
“I need to know. Do you accept the risk?”
“Oh, my God!” She rolls her eyes. “This... this is so stupid.”
“Do you–” He says with as much force as he could “Accept the risk?”
She sighs loudly. “Yeah. Sure. Fine. I accept the risk.” She sits down in a chair. “Let’s hear it.”
He pulls a chair out from across from her, gathering his thoughts. “Last year... Will and Stephanie didn’t get lost in the woods. They got lost somewhere else.”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Will lets the crayon roll into his lap, before leaning back into his chair with a glazed look. Mike calls out his name while his mother picks up the drawing.
“Hey, is this where you saw him? Is this where you saw Hopper?” She asks, as he slowly shakes his head.
“I think so. Yeah.”
“Okay. Come on, Mike.”
Now, Joyce and Mike were wandering around the house, following the trail of drawings taped along the walls, ceiling and even the floor, hoping to find the right piece of this puzzle.
Mike eventually perks up when he notices a spot on the fridge. “Here!” He shouts, getting her attention.
Joyce runs over, moving around the drawing until they match up with the other ones. “Okay, so... so Hopper is here?”
“Yeah. Now we just need to find out where here is, right?”
“Right.”
“Did he say anything? I mean, before he left?”
“Uh, some... something about vines?” But that still made no sense to her. What could he be referring to? However, before she could think more, they could hear a car rolling into the driveway. “Hopper.” She gets up to get the door, but a quick glimpse outside her window told her she was wrong. …Shit.
“Surprise.” Bob said with a smile as she came outside; His arms full of games for her youngest. “I would’ve called, but you said not to clog up the line.”
“You know, I... We’re fine, we don’t need anything.” She politely tries to shoo him away.
“When I was sick as a kid, and I was sick all the time as a kid, nothing made me feel better than focusing on these brain teasers.”
“Those are great. Uh…”
“I could teach him how to play.”
“You know, he’s sleeping.”
“Oh. Okay.” His face falls slightly, but then an idea comes to mind and it rises again. “I could wait with you?”
Joyce tries to look as apologetic as she could be. “Listen, it’s just not a good time. But, um, you know what? I’ll call you, okay?” She gave him a quick hug and a kiss. “Thank you.”
“You sure?” He asks, as she nods. “Well, have him call me.” He chuckles to himself as he heads back to his car. “They don’t call me ‘Bob the Brain’ for nothing.”
And that was it.
This is the breakthrough she needed.
Was this a risky idea? Of course. But can she and a 13 year old boy figure out where Hopper is without killing each other? She doesn’t think so. “Bob!”
He pauses and looks back. “That’s my name. Did you change your mind, Joyce?” After she explained everything (in vague details), he came inside and took a look himself. “Huh.” His eyes land on Will. “You drew all these yourself?” The boy shakes his head. “...Why, exactly?”
“I-I told you the rules. No questions, okay?” Joyce cuts in, before moving away from the living room towards the kitchen. “We... we just need you to help us figure out what– Bob?” She gestures for him to follow. “Bob, over here.” He strolls over to the fridge. “We need help to figure out where–” She holds up the latest drawing. “Where this is.”
“That’s the objective. Find the X.” Mike adds.
“Yeah? What’s at the X? Pirate treasure?” Bob teases, still all smiles and laughs.
“Bob, no questions.” Joyce reminds her tone was enough to finally make her Boyfriend give up his façade.
“Okay.” He sets his games aside. “Let me talk to you for a second. Hang on, guys.” He guides her to the bedroom, out of earshot from the kids. He looks at her worriedly. “Joyce, you can talk to me. You know that, right?”
“Yeah.” She tries playing it off. “What’s the problem, exactly?”
He blinks. “What’s the problem? Joyce, Will doesn’t look well. You don’t look well. What’s going on?”
“Nothing. Nothing–”
“Is this an episode? Is this one of Will’s episodes?”
“No– No!” She scoffs. “No.”
Bob sighs while running his hand through his short locks. “I’m sorry. I just... I don’t... see how any of this is good for Will, or for you. And even if I wanted to play along, I mean, how could I figure anything out if I don’t understand the context of the game? Or–” His eyes catch something behind her. “Huh.”
Joyce perks up at his reaction. “What?” She follows his gaze to one of the drawings on the wall. “What is it?”
“I know that shape. It’s Lovers’ Lake.” He smirks as everything starts to click. “It’s Lovers’ Lake. I get it. Okay, I get it.” He leaves for the hallway, pointing at another drawing for his Girlfriend to understand. “That’s Lake Jordan.” He starts moving again. “And if that’s Lake Jordan, then you can probably find–” He stops just at the end of the hall, snapping his fingers and pointing to another spot. “Yeah, that’s, uh, Sattler’s Quarry. And if you just follow it naturally... it moves to–”
He heads for the living room, finding exactly what he wants. “The Eno River. And there it is. That’s the Eno, do you see it?” Joyce scrunches her nose in confusion, so he clarifies as he starts moving around again, “Okay, so the lines aren’t roads. But they act like roads. And they act like roads ‘cause when you follow ‘em, you’ll see…” He points to another (obvious) answer. “They don’t go over water. And that’s the giveaway. That’s the giveaway. Ha!”
His smirk turns into a huge grin as he stands in front of Joyce and the two kids all proudly. “Don’t you get it? It’s not a puzzle, it’s a map. It’s a map of Hawkins. Right, Will?”
The trio all become awestruck with this news. There was no one any of them would have figured that out on their own.
No. Freaking. Way.
Mike begins to look super hopeful, and asks, “Since you know what’s going on–” Bob looks at him. “Do you think you can help us find the X?”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
“And that was the last we ever saw of her. After that, she was just gone.” Lucas looks at his hands all sadly. “I can’t believe it’s been that long. Feels like yesterday.”
Max nods along slowly. “Yeah. I mean, I bet. Wow. It’s crazy.”
He sighs. “I know.”
“It’s crazy, but... I really liked it.”
He snaps his head up. “Liked it?”
“Yeah.” She shrugs. “Well, I mean, I had a few issues.”
“Issues?”
“I felt it was a little derivative in parts.”
He sends her a strange look. “What are you talking about?”
“I just wish it had a little more originality. That’s all.”
He blinks. “...You don’t believe me?”
Max chuckles. “Lucas, come on, seriously? How gullible do you think I am?”
“Why would I make this up?” Lucas asks, clearly offended (I mean, he spends hours telling her this and she thinks it’s all bull? Are you kidding him?).
“I don’t know!” She throws her hands out. “To impress me or something? Or you’re just, like, insane.”
Now it was Lucas’ turn to laugh at the insanity. “I tell you all of this–” He bolts up to his feet like the seat was made of fire. “I-I mean, top-secret stuff. Risking my life. And this is how you react?”
“Risking your life?” She giggles at his antics.
Lucas sends her another look. “Oh, so this is funny to you?”
“Yeah. I mean... kind of funny. Stupid, but funny. “ She replies, standing up to leave with her skateboard in hand.
“Where are you going?”
“Story time’s over, isn’t it?”
Lucas quickly follows her out into the hallway, enough for him to reach out and stop her by her bicep. “What’s wrong with you? I gave you what you wanted.”
“I wanted to be a part of the group, not a part of some joke.” Max explains, as she yanks her arm out of his hold.
“It’s not a joke.”
“You did a good job, okay? You can go tell the others I believed your lies if it gets you experience points or whatever.”
Lucas’ shoulders slacked, despite feeling hurt by her words, he needs to remember what her point of view must look like. “Look, Max, we have a lot of rules in our party, but the most important is, ‘Friends don’t lie’. Never ever. No matter what.”
“Is that right?” She crosses her arms. “Then explain why Tracy told me Mr. Clarke wanted to see me instead?”
“I had to do that. To protect you.”
“To protect me from who, exactly? The big bad government baddies from Hawkins Lab?”
“Lower your voice.” He hushes, as he looks around the empty hall worriedly.
“Maybe it was to protect me from the Demogorgon from another dimension?”
“Max, I’m serious, shut up!”
“Oh, no, no! You know what it was? It was Eleven. The girl–”
Lucas covers her mouth with his hand, his face full of fear. “Stop. Talking. You’re going to get us killed. Do you understand?”
Max’s eyes widened, as he removed his hand. “You’re serious?” She asks, noticing that there was no playful banter.
“I really wish I wasn’t.”
She purses her lips. “Prove it.”
He swallows. “...I can’t.”
“So what? I’m supposed to just trust you?” She asks, as he stares at her in defeat, ‘cause he wasn’t sure what to say or do to get her on his side. The bell then rings and everyone starts emptying the classrooms. She sends him another look of annoyance, not quite as bad as the one from earlier, but it was close enough. “You’re already made me miss the first period, you’re not gonna make me miss lunch, stalker.”
And she turns to blend into the crowd.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Gareth checks his watch for the tenth time as he stands in line at the cafeteria. “Did he skip school again?” He asks his friends after looking around the room once more for any signs of their leader.
“And I think Steph did too. I haven’t seen her at all.” Grant said, frowning.
“Yeah, and she’s never late.”
“Do you think he’s doing something stupid?”
Gareth ponders on that. The words ‘Eddie’ and ‘Stupid’ were usually neck-and-neck with each other, so it wouldn’t be far fetched if he was. But what was he doing exactly? It took a second for the light bulb to go off, but it did. “Grant, you saw him this morning, right?”
“I did.”
“Eddie’s first class is Science, right?”
“Yeah.”
“And so is Stephanie’s. So, how much do you guys want to bet he skipped because she’s not here again?” Gareth asks, as Grant and Jeff both look at each other.
“I don’t think we need to bet.” Jeff replies, which was enough for the blond to get out of line. “Where are you going?”
“Come on. We got a mission to do.” Gareth says, his friends sparing another glance before following him out of the room. “Freaks stick together, remember? Let’s go find our Dungeon Master and Ranger.”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
“Guys, this is Dustin again. Does anyone copy? This is a code red. I repeat, a code red! I really need someone to pick up here.” Dustin yells into his walkie again. Seriously, why is no one picking up? “Hopper’s MIA, and I’ve got a code red. Code red!”
Stephanie comes in just as he lets out a groan. “I just finished burying Mews and cleaning up the blood. Any luck?”
“No.” He mumbles before trying once more. “Alright, it’s Dustin again. Seriously, I have a code red. Helloooooo–”
[ ‘Could you please shut up?’ ]
He perks up in his spot. “Erica?” He started feeling hopeful again. “Erica, is Lucas home? Where is he?”
[ ‘Where else do you think, dummy? He’s at school.’ ]
“Then why do you have his walkie?”
[ ‘Duh. ‘Cause he left it. Now, can you please shut up?’ ]
“Well, do you know if he’s coming straight home after school?”
[ ‘Don’t know. Don’t care.’ ]
“Do you know if he’s going to be hanging out with Mike?”
[ ‘Like I said, I don’t know and I don’t care.’ ]
“Erica, please. When he comes home, tell him it’s super important. Please tell him that I have a code–”
[ ‘Code red?’ ]
“Yep, code red. Exactly. Mmm-hmm.”
[ ‘I got a code for you instead. It’s called code shut-your-mouth.’ ]
And the Hendersons were met with just static. Dustin’s face falls. “Erica?”
“Did she seriously hang up?” The eldest asks, and his head leans against his wall in defeat.
“Yep.”
“Oh, my God…” She rubs her face. “What are we gonna do?”
Dustin slowly starts going through all the people he knew personally, mentally checking the list and scratching them out. It was running pretty thin now… “We should call Steve.” He said, knowing he can count on him well.
Her head snaps his way. “No.”
Dustin almost sighs, ‘cause he knew that was going to be her answer. “Phanie–”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Stephanie crosses her arms in a huff. “...Because we got into an argument.”
“Of course you did.” He whispers, before following up with, “Can we call Eddie then?”
“Absloutely not.” She snaps back.
“Why?” Dustin whines.
“Because I’m not getting him involved in this. Or any of the guys. They don’t know anything about this shit.”
“Alright, fine.” I guess they were starting from the top again. “Let’s round up the troops in person. Maybe when we get there, Mike will be there. Or even Nancy.”
“Still trying with your friends?”
“Well, you’re not letting us use yours, so mine are still next. You got a better idea?” He asks, as she stays quiet. “Didn’t think so. Let’s go.”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Bob sits down at the table, a map of the town laid out in front of him, along with a ruler and his favorite red pen. “Alright. Alright. I’m 3.6 inches, what do you got?” He calls out, as everyone was spread out around the house,
“I’m not sure.” Mike said, as he stands by the Lover’s Lake drawings while holding the beginning of the tape measure. “Mrs. Byers?”
“Hold on.” Joyce says, finishing rounding the corner with the end of the tape measure, pulling it until she got to Tippecanoe. “Twenty-one feet, four inches.”
“What about Tippecanoe to Danford Creek?” Bob asks, as he starts his work on the map.
“D-Danford? Where’s Danford?”
“Dining room.” Will cuts in, waving his mom over to the correct spot.
She does, and replies, “Sixteen feet, ten inches.”
“What about Danford to Jordan?” Bob asks, as she sighs.
“Oh, come on.” She comes over to him with the kids on her tail. “This has gotta be enough.”
“It’s not. It’s... it’s really not–”
“Can’t you figure it out?”
“Well, I-It’s hard. The ratio isn’t exactly one-to-one. I mean, if you’re twisting my arm, and you are twisting my arm, I would say that the X is–” He finishes drawing the line with the help of the ruler. “Maybe a half mile southeast of Danford?”
She sighs with relief. “Thank you.” She gives him a peck on the cheek. “Thank you.” She grabs the map, along with her car keys, and starts heading out the door with Mike and Will.
Bob just stares at the empty spot in genuine confusion. “What? Are we... we really going?” He gets up to go after him. “Joyce! Hang on!”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
The Hendersons plopped their bikes down on the grass, marching their way up to the front entrance of the Wheeler home.
“Time check?” Dustin asks, as she checks her watch.
“Uh, I mean, it’s almost four. One of them should be home.” She replies, as he rings the door bell -- Ted opens the door with his usual unamused facial expression.
“Your line has been busy for over two hours, Mr. Wheeler. Do you realize this?” Dustin said, going in hot right off that bat (His sister tries not to face palm or smack the back of his head for that response).
“Oh, I do realize.” Ted says, a jab at his wife occupying their phone all day.
Steph touches her brother’s shoulder to calm him, and politely asks, “Is Mike home yet?”
“No.”
“No?” Dustin gets tense again. “Well, where the hell is he?”
“Karen, where’s our son?” He calls out over his shoulder, and she quickly shouts something back. “Will’s.”
The boy frowns. “No one’s picking up there…”
“Nancy. What about Nancy?” Stephanie asks, trying to reel her brother back in again.
“Karen, where’s Nancy?” He got another shouting response. “Ally’s.”
“Ally Miller?” She whispers, as her brother sighs heavily. That didn’t make sense. Ally was dealing with a very bad case of the seasonal flu. Why risk making yourself sick?
“Our children don’t live here anymore. You didn’t know that?”
“Seriously?” Dustin scoffs.
“Am I done here?”
“Son of a bitch.” He rolls his eyes as he takes his sister’s hand so they can move along. “You’re really no help at all, you know that?”
“Hey! Language.” Was the last thing Ted said before closing the door.
“Well, that went fucking great.” Steph said, as they went back towards their bikes.
Dustin sighs. “What do we do?”
“Um…” She starts racking her brain. “I mean, if Will and I could kill an adult Demogorgon on our own, we definitely can handle a baby one. We just need to somehow move Dart somewhere where we could start a fire without us worrying about burning everything to the ground.”
“How? With another trail of lunch meat? He’s gonna be pissed at us for hitting him with a hockey stick.”
“You gotta better plan, Dusty? ‘Cause I’m all ears.”
The boy stays quiet, also starting to really think. But that all changed when a familiar car pulled into the driveway. Unknowing to the Hendersons, Steve was here to see if El had possibly come to see Mike at his own home; He was just using the excuse that he was bringing some of Nancy’s belongings he had still in his car.
I’ll just pop in real quick, keep the conversation short while doing subtle snooping. Easy-peasy. And then I can move onto the next spot. He tells himself. Meanwhile, Stephanie was sending a glare at her younger brother who was now holding his hands up in defense.
“What? I didn’t call him.” He says, and her stare intensifies. “I didn’t call him! I swear!” He didn’t, but since the teenager was actually here– “Although…”
“No.” She replies, sternly.
“Come on, sis. You asked if I had a better plan. This is it. We need help if we’re going to move Dart somewhere else.”
She bites her lip because deep down she knows he’s right. “Fine. But I’m not talking to him.”
“Fair enough.” He pivots around and yells, “Steve!”
The teenager stops in his tracks immediately. “Dustin?” Steve says, surprised to see not only him, but Stephanie, at the Wheeler’s property.
“Is that for Mr. or Mrs. Wheeler?” Dustin asks, gesturing to the bag in the teen’s hand.
Steve shakes his head. “No. I’m trying to bring Nance her stuff back.”
“Just leave it on the door.” The boy plucks it from him, and starts walking back to the front.
“Hey, what the hell?!” Steve follows the kid who lightly tossed the bag at the step. “Dustin–”
“Nancy isn’t home.” Dustin cuts in, as redirects himself back towards the car.
“Where is she?”
“Doesn’t matter. We have bigger problems than your love life. Do you still have that bat?”
“Bat? What bat?”
“The one with the nails.” Dustin says, stating the obvious as opens the passenger door (Stephanie taking the hint to get into the backseat).
“Why?” Steve asks, confused.
“We’ll– I’ll explain it on the way.”
The teenager blinks. “Like, now?”
“Now! It’s a code red. Come on, Steve!”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Meanwhile, at Hawkins Lab, Doctor Owens was starting to think what the Chief told him was all just some paranoia. “Alright, what are we looking at?” He asks his lead scientist, while staring at beakers filled with handfuls of dirt.
“This was some of the soil we took yesterday.”
“Okay. So what is your concern?”
“Well, we didn’t find any signs of contamination. Uh, nothing hazardous other than some pesticides.”
“Well, it’s a farm.”
“Right, right. Exactly.” The scientist agrees as he guides his boss over to another work desk. “Although…”
The other scientist present went ahead and lit a fire, carefully sliding it until it was fully under another beaker. As soon as the dirt felt the heat, it suddenly started to swirl like a vortex. Dr. Owens stares in shock before he follows the Lead’s gaze to the other beakers -- all of them reacting to the heat without being near it.
“Oh, no…”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
The sun had almost completely set when Dustin finally finished explaining everything to his older friend as they drove back to his place. Steve takes a minute to process it all before asking, “Wait a sec. How big?”
“First it was like that–” Dustin holds his hands out a few inches. “Now he’s like this.” And then opens the gap much wider.
“Okay, um…” Steve’s not sure how to respond. “And you’re sure it’s not just some little lizard?”
“It’s definitely not a lizard.”
“How do you know?”
“How do I know if it’s not?”
“How do you know it’s not just a lizard?”
“Because his face opened up and he ate our cat.”
“Oh…” Steve’s face falls. Yeah, that’s definitely not a lizard. But if it’s face did that, then– “So, if the face opened up, best guess is… a baby Demogorgon?”
“We need to try to lure it away, so we can kill it.”
“You’re going to try to lure a Demogorgon away?”
“Yes, Steve! We just need help getting out of our cellar. Okay?”
“Okay, okay…” Steve won’t argue ‘cause it’s pointless. But how could he just help them lure it out? Do they expect him to just leave after that? I can’t just up and leave. But I still need to keep searching for Eleven. So, what can I do?
He ponders on that as he pulls into the driveway, The Hendersons getting out and waiting as Steve retrieves his special bat and flashlight. They make their way to the back, the Harrington approaching first with caution.
“I don’t hear shit.” He says, after a brief moment of just listening.
“He’s in there. Trust me.” Dustin reassures, as Steve starts tapping the door with his bat a few times.
“Nothing.” Steve sighs. “Alrighty then. You got a key for this thing?”
“Yeah.” The boy fishes out the key and unlocks it. They pointed the flashlight down the cellar, but nothing could be seen from the top. “He must be further down there. I’ll stay up here in case he tries to escape.”
Stephanie shakes her head at his antics. “I’ll take a look.”
“No, no.” Steve puts his arm out to stop her. “I got it. Just watch your brother.” And then he heads out, bat ready for any potential attack.
But then it got quiet. Almost too quiet.
“Steve?” Dustin asks, worriedly. “Steve, what’s going on down there?” The siblings could suddenly see the overhead light being turned on, and Steve peering up at them.
“Get down here.”
They worriedly rushed down, not thrilled to see that at the end of the bat, the teenager was holding up a large chunk of Dart’s shedded skin. “Oh, shit.” And then the bat slowly turns to the huge hold in the wall. “Oh, shit!”
“You gotta be shitting me.” Steph says, in disbelief. “If Dart eats like… one or two more pets, or even a freaking human being, we’re fucked. That thing is gonna be back to its natural size before we know it.” She heavily sighs as she sits on an old crate, her face falling into her hands.
“What do we do? How do you kill something like that?” Steve asks, as he flings the skin off his bat towards the hole.
“Phanie said she and Will killed it with fire. We have to try to see if we can lure somewhere far away from the town so we can burn it.” Dustin explains.
“How do we do that? And where?”
As the two boys talked amongst themselves, Stephanie gave herself a moment to calm the nerves. After all this time trying to heal, a freaking Demogorgon of all things just had to appear. Did the universe really want a repeat of last year? She rubs her face, tired from the lack of sleep last night–
Something catches her eye.
For an instant she thought that maybe Dart had caught a whiff of them and came crawling back, but she was dead wrong. In the corner of the room she sees someone, a man who has a creepy grin and is wearing all white. His gaze sent a shiver down her spine as he reaches for the watch on his wrist, tapping the face of it four times just as the light overhead flickered and–
Her mind drew a quick blank as blood began to spill from her nose like a waterfall. She makes a startled sound catching the others’ attention.
“Shit.” Dustin said, as Steve rummaged around in his jacket for a clean cloth.
He does, and holds it up to her face. “Keep it on like that.”
The youngest Henderson paled. “This is almost as bad as the other day.”
“The other day?” Steve’s head whips around towards the boy. “What happened then?”
“Steve–” Steph begins, worriedly.
“What happened?”
She meets her brother’s gaze and gives in. “Just tell him.”
Dustin nods and begins, “Without us knowing, Will started having some… episodes. Like, zoning out and seeing things that aren’t there. Well, at least not to everyone else.”
“And when did this start?” Steve asks, hands on hips as begins to really listen.
“Recently. I think about a week ago? Maybe less.”
“And…” He spares his old friend a look. “Are you seeing things too?”
Dustin almost replies, but Stephanie at that moment decides that the ‘no-speaking’ thing was probably not going to work now since this is going to last longer than anticipated.
“Not… all the time.” She explains, carefully. “Sometimes I just got nightmares, sometimes I was just really cold, or sometimes I just had really bad nose bleeds. But, we didn’t really think much since November 6 is right around the corner. We thought it was just the anniversary effect.”
“Anniversary effect?” Steve asks, curiously.
“Basically, people with severe PTSD, like a war veteran for example, sometimes will get flashbacks or anxiety attacks when the date of their trauma is coming up.” Dustin cuts back in, as his sister shakes her head at the correct explanation.
“Exactly.” She said, continuing. “And that’s what Will and I thought it was. So, we just told ourselves it’ll be all over as soon as the 6th passes. But then… things got strange.”
Steve gives her a look. “Like…?”
“Even though Will and I went through the same thing last year, our trauma’s different. So, if we did start having nightmares, it was never the same. But then, like Dustin said, a week ago we started sharing our terrors. Lights flickering, getting cold, blinking and seeing ourselves in the Upside Down. And then… the monster came.”
His stomach dropped. “Monster?”
She fiddles with her hands in her lap worriedly. “At first, we thought it was just something to maybe scare us, but it started escalating. It got really bad on Halloween. I saw it while I was at the party. It was bigger and… fucking terrifying. Then the day before yesterday, after school, it came back. Much bigger again, and it looked like it was going after Will. I ran, like hell, but then…” She frowns. “I… I blacked out. Woke up in the back of an ambulance.”
Steve’s eyes go wide as Dustin clarifies with, “Yeah, and while she blacked out, Will completely froze up. He seemed fine afterwards, just a little out of it.”
Steve’s brows together in deep thought. “But you blacked out? And Will just froze? Why the two different reactions? How’d that happen?”
“I don’t know.” Steph said, with a small shrug. “And the thing is… I-I don’t remember what happened. Which isn’t the first. Like, I was talking to Grant on the phone, we were trying to plan a movie night, and I said something, I blink, and the phone is back on the receiver, and the soup I was cooking had been burnt. And just now, I swear I saw something in the corner. But again, I blink, and I don’t remember what it was. And my nose bleeds are getting even worse each time.”
“Jesus.” Steve says under his breath. “But what’s causing all this? I mean, it can’t be Dart, right?” He faces Dustin. “When did you find him?”
“Halloween night.” The boy replies.
“Okay, and you said that you and Will started feeling crappy over a week ago, so it can’t be him.”
“See, that’s what I was thinking.” Dustin says. “But if it isn’t Dart, then something else is the cause.”
“Yeah, but what?”
It was at that moment that Stephanie made a crucial decision. The promise her and Will made in the hospital has officially been broken by the truth she’s about to spill. She takes a deep breath before beginning, “When I was in the Upside Down–” She gets their full attention. “After Will and I communicated with Ms. Byers, the Demogorgon came after us. We managed to out run it, but there’s a small problem. I ended up passing out from exhaustion, because I was staying up and watching over Will as he slept. So, at that point, I had been up for over 3 days.”
“Jesus, Stephanie.” Steve said, imagining that scenario in his head perfectly (‘Cause of course she would do something like that in order to keep someone safe).
“When I woke up, I was back at my home. My real home, like this one here. I thought it was just a dream, yet it turns out, something was showing me my memories. Good ones to keep me put. Then it all changed, and something was trying to…” She almost shutters at the memory. “Suck the life force out of me. Will somehow managed to get me out of there, but to this day, both of us are convinced that was not the Demogorgon’s doing.”
Dustin perks up at this new information, his curiosity and fear were piqued at that point. “There were more monsters in the Upside Down?”
“There was the Demo, these… bat looking creatures? They had wings like a bat, and faces like a Demogorgon. I nicknamed them ‘Demo-Bats’. But other than those two, that’s all we saw. But after getting stuck in my head, almost dying, I think there was something else there.”
“Was it the Shadow Monster?”
“I don’t think so. Its presence doesn’t feel the same.”
“So, wait, if I’m following you correctly… are you saying that, when you guys got kidnapped, the Demogorgon might have not been responsible?” Steve asks, double checking if he was following this right.
“I don’t know.” Steph admits truthfully. “But that presence, I felt it in the shed when we were first kidnapped. I felt it when I was in my head. And I felt it… after you and Hopper gave me CPR.”
Dustin’s heart skipped a beat. “CPR?” He asks in shock. Because he didn’t know that. Who else knows that? Does mom know that? Why didn’t anyone tell me?
“Why haven’t you and Will said anything?” Steve asks, ignoring the young boy’s question.
Steph’s face falls again. “Because, it was a promise. He just wanted it to be over. We both did. When we were in the hospital, we promised each other that would be it. The nightmare was over, we would never have to talk about it. And if we thought we didn’t, we wouldn’t relive it. And it worked. It’s been almost a year, and we’ve never had any issues until this week.”
Dustin, who decides to shake off the part about his sister being brought back to life for a moment, curiously asks, “But why a year? If something really wanted you and Will to begin with, then why wait? Why didn’t it snag you guys when your guards were down?”
“I don’t know. I really don’t know, Dusty.”
Steve lets out a sigh, trying to contain his own fear at this point. “Okay, let’s put the theories on pause for a second.” He gestures to the hole. “How do we deal with this?”
“When Will and I killed it we lured it to an abandoned building– Um, the old clock tower you and I used to hang at. We ended up basically burning it to death.” Stephanie replies.
“So, we just lure it back to the building, and burn the living shit out of it.”
“We could, but there’s a problem there. When we did it, no one was around, so we didn’t have to care about setting the city on fire. And I really don’t feel like going to jail over arson, because no one’s going to believe that we were killing a monster from another dimension.”
“Right. Right.” He nods. “So, somewhere else far away from people?” His eyes meet Dustin’s. “Junkyard?”
Dustin hums. “That could work.”
“Okay.” Steph says, standing up. “Let’s start making a plan on how we’re going to lure it. But first, I need to change my hoodie.” They started heading back outside as she already started tugging on hoodie to take off… when she notices someone coming around to the back. Her eyes widened in surprise. “Eddie?”
Her voice gets his attention as he gives a small wave.
“I thought you said you weren’t calling him?” Dustin whispers, as he and Steve stand beside her.
“I didn’t.”
“Uh, I came by earlier. But no one was home, so I thought I’d try again later.” Eddie says, his hands rubbing together out of anxiousness and the cold.
“Oh.” She said, trying to play it cool. “Is something wrong? Or, is there something about our upcoming Campaign?”
“Campaign?” He shakes his head, perplexed by her response. “No, I… y-you didn’t come to school like you said you were, so I got worried.”
“Oh.” That makes more sense. “Well, I appreciate it and, um, I’m sorry. Uh, my mom is still freaking out about Mews, so Dustin and I agreed to search around here while she searches town.”
“Okay…? I guess that makes sense. But–” He tilts his head at what he considers the odd one out of the group. “Is Harrington helping you with that?”
She tries not to let the panic show on her face. Eddie doesn’t know the exact details of her and Steve’s relationship, he just knows that they are no longer friends, and that was the end of their conversation. “Y-Yeah. Uh, Dustin and him are actually pretty close. And, w-we thought we heard our cat in the cellar, and it turns out it was a massive raccoon, so Steve here was helping us get rid of it.”
“I sure am.” Steve said, going along with the obvious lie as Dustin nods eagerly too.
Eddie’s brown eyes go between the three, not convinced. “...Right.” His gaze lands back solely on his friend. “So, did you get in a fight with the raccoon?” His finger points at a blood stain on her hoodie.
She tries hiding her nerves with a small laugh. “Oh, this? I just had another… nosebleed attack. That’s all.” She sends him a smile, and a pat on the shoulder. “Well, I need to change. Um, thanks for stopping by, Eddie. I’ll see you at school on Monday.”
She tries walking back inside, but he stops her by her bicep. He flashes her those hurt puppy-dog eyes that no one can resist. “Please don’t lie to me.” He said, pleading.
Her heart clenches at his hurt tone. “Eddie–”
“Stephanie, look, I… I know I screwed up the other night when I laughed at you, and… I-I know I haven’t properly apologized for that yet, but I’m here now. I’m here to listen.” He replies, as she starts opening her mouth for a lie that he quickly shuts down. “And don’t tell me this was some raccoon. Please. Me and the guys are really worried about you. So, please. Talk to me.”
She bites her lip, casting a look to the boys behind her for an answer. Dustin just shrugs, while Steve makes a face. She finally sighs and gives in. “Okay. It wasn’t a raccoon. But we are trying to get rid of something.”
Eddie raises an eyebrow. “Which is…?”
“To make a long story short, Dustin brought home an animal, a lizard, except when it grew bigger, it turns out it wasn’t a lizard. And uh…” She almost sugarcoats it, but decides against it. “It ate our cat.”
He blinks. “I’m sorry– What ate your cat?”
“Follow me.” She guides him down to the cellar, asking, “Remember when we met, and you asked me how I got my D&D name? Remember?”
“Yeah. I do. You said it’s because you killed the Demogorgon first try.”
“Yeah.” She wastes no time pointing to the giant hole in the wall. “Demogorgon. We’re trying to get rid of a Demogorgon.”
He blinks again, more slowly this time before waving his hands around to process. “Wait, what–”
“Look, Munson–” Steve cuts in to help with the confusion. “I know how weird it sounds, but it’s the truth. I’ve seen it. Dustin has too. This ‘Demogorgon’ is in fact real.”
“What, I…” Eddie feels his brain go mushy. “I, uh–”
Stephanie knew him well enough now to see he was about to spontaneously combust, and decided to try to deescalate that. “Can you give us a minute?” She asks, her look told them to ‘scram’, which they did. “Eds–”
“Monsters?” He confirms, as she nods. “So, when you said monsters, is that what you were implying before?”
“Yeah. Will came up with the name Demogorgon. I mean, it doesn’t look like a two headed demon prince, but it’s pretty gnarly looking.”
“Okay. Um, wait…” Eddie moves his hands around again. “So, were you like… kidnapped by the Demogorgon, or–”
“Look, I know seeing is believing, but I need you to trust me. As my friend. Please.” She says, cutting to the chase. As much as she loves her best friend, she really needs to get moving on stopping Dart. “And if you don’t, that’s totally okay. But that means I want you out of the way so you’re not in danger.”
Eddie became still, a sign that he was taking this really seriously now. “But you’re… you’re putting yourself in danger?” He asks, as she gives him a look of pity.
“Yeah. I have to. I have to be… a protector. This thing, the Demogorgon, it’s hurting Will, and there’s no way in hell I’m gonna let anything happen to him again.” Steph explains, as she could see the gears in his head turning more. “So, Eddie, what I’m saying is, you either trust me and jump into the chaos, or… you leave, and you pretend that you never heard any of this. ‘Cause if you try talking about it with the wrong person, it could get you hurt, or worse. And I don’t want anything to happen to you, because I don’t think I could live with myself if something does.”
He breaks eye contact for a second. “What…” A look of uncertainty crosses his features. “What do you want me to do?”
“I would love for you to be my friend, and stay by my side.” She replies softly before getting stern. “But, if you do, you have to do exactly what I say. Exactly. Don’t be the hero. Heroes get hurt.”
He grows quiet, and Stephanie thought for a second she broke him before he met her eyes again. The hurt and concern was strong in those chestnut orbs that made her chest get all tight again.
“And, um…” He was getting choked up as he carefully grabbed her hands, holding them up so they both could see the tiny scars on them. “Does this have something to do with being a hero?” He read her file, he heard her tell him the truth -- showed him the truth that was right behind her; It didn’t take him long for him to connect the dots. He waits for her to slowly nod, obviously hesitating to come clean about that past. “H-How many?”
She bites her lip briefly again, before whispering, “31.”
“Jesus.” He didn’t think there were that many. “Is that how…” He sighs in frustration towards the situation. “I read the police report. It said you were given CPR after you were found. They… they…”
He couldn’t even put the rest of what he wanted to say into words. I mean, how could he? Everything that was just a “theory” between him and Hellfire was starting to become a reality he wished wasn’t there. He didn’t even realize he was shaking a little until she squeezed his hands.
“Look. I haven’t told you everything. But how I’m even alive is a fucking miracle. A very supernatural, unknown fucking miracle. I got lucky is what I’m saying. But you might not get the same outcome I do if something happens to you.” She gets serious again. “So, if you come with me, do as I say, I can assure nothing will happen to you. I just need you to please trust me.” She tilted her head, now batting her pleading eyes. “Can you?”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
“There’s nothing.” Mike says, as they continued driving down the road with just trees and empty farm land. He was getting frustrated at this point. Hell, they all were. Why didn’t the Police Chief tell them where he was going?! This would be so much easier if he did. “There’s nothing here.”
“Are... Are we close?” Joyce said, her eyes scanning around as they drive.
Bob looks down at the map again. “We’re in the vicinity.”
“What’s that mean, the vicinity?”
“It means we’re close. I don’t know.” He shrugs. “It’s not precise.”
“But we did all that work.”
“I told you, the scale ratio is not exactly one-to-one. We needed to take–”
“Turn right.” Will blurts out after remaining quiet for the whole car ride.
“W-What?” Joyce asks, sparring him a quick glance.
“I saw him.”
She perks up at the news, as her eyes scan the fields again. “Where?”
“Not here.” Will shakes his head. “In my now-memories.”
Bob looks at him strangely. “In your what?”
Another vision flashes before the boy’s eyes, making him jolt in his seat. “Turn right!” He yells, and Joyce jerks the steering wheel to the side. Everyone starts screaming as the car immediately hits a bumpy dirt path, and smashing through a pumpkin patch sign. Eventually, her reflexes kick in, slamming on the brakes until her vehicle stops just inches before crashing into Hopper’s prize truck.
“A-Are you okay?” Joyce asks, looking around her passengers as they all clenched their chests.
Mike nods, before elbowing Will lightly. “Superspy.”
“What’s Jim doing here?” Bob asks, confused. “Joyce?”
“Boys, I need you to stay here.” She says, ignoring the question as she opens her door.
Will immediately starts shaking his head. “No! Mom, Mom, Mom, it’s not safe–”
“That’s why I need you to stay here! Stay here!” She warns the kids as she slams the door shut. She starts her adventure into the field, Bob trailing right behind her with the same expression of bewilderment. “Hopper!!” She soon notices the giant hole in the dirt and beeline towards that.
“Hey, be careful.” Bob warns, but she continues her dangerous walk towards the middle. “Or just keep going down the hole…”
Joyce carefully positions herself to get a look, eyes widening when she sees what was there. “Vines.” She whispers, recalling the last thing Hopper said before he left. “Give me that.” She points to the object by his feet.
“The shovel?”
“Yes, give me the shovel.” He does, and she starts viciously poking the vines. They immediately reacted, spitting out weird goo as they recoiled away. After a few attempts the hole was completely uncovered. She tosses the shovel aside, and looks at him, “I need you to help me get down there.”
Bob looks at her like she has three heads. “Joyce, what are you talking about?”
“Bob! Now!” He once again complies, helping her to lower herself down. As soon as she does, she finds herself in a dark and creepy tunnel. She forces herself to ignore the disgusting odor. “Hopper!” She waited a second for a response but got none. “Hopper! Hopper!”
Bob suddenly comes flying down, landing very wobbly as he takes in his new surroundings. “Joyce, what is going on? Where are we?”
“Bob–” She held him steady (He actually followed me?). “Are you okay?”
“Tunnels.” He said, as she took out his miniature flashlight from his pocket (He always seemed to have everything they needed at all times). “Is this Will’s map?”
Joyce starts looking for clues with her new light source. “Hopper!”
“Are we in Will’s map?”
“Hopper!” She continues shouting, as she starts walking. “Hopper!”
“We’re in Will’s map…” Bob whispers in disbelief, as he follows her.
“Hopper!”
“We’re actually inside of Will’s map.”
“Hopper!”
“How did he know all this?”
She slows her pace to a halt. “Bob! Over here!” She shows him an unlit cigarette bud, a hopeful smile blooming. “It’s his. He’s gotta be this way. Come on.” She heads down the tunnel again, and continues to yell his name.
.
.
Meanwhile, back outside, the two boys of course didn’t listen and now were standing a foot away from the hole.
“Do you see anything?” Mike asks, glancing back and forth from his friend and the opening. “I mean, in your now-memories?”
“N-No.” Will shakes his head. “Nothing.”
Mike swallows nervously. “They’re going to be okay.” He reassures them both. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
“...R-Right.”
Like his words were that of a prophet, somebody had answered the call. The two boys turned around at the noise, both equally shocked and scared to see three vans belonging to Hawkins Lab pulling up to the scene. An older man gets out first, rushing over to the children in a panic.
“I’m Dr. Owens. I’ve been working with the Police Chief. Can you tell me what’s going on?”
.
.
Back below, the couple continued their trek. And when it seemed like a lost cause, Joyce starts seeing a few of Hopper’s belongings scattered around.
“Hopper!” She tries again. “Hop–” Her light lands on something fleshy. She gasps. “It’s his arm!” They rush over to find him being pinned down and strangled by a group of vines.
“It’s choking him!” Bob says, as they try to pry him loose.
Luckily, Hopper was conscious enough to whisper, “Knife…”
“Knife?” Joyce asks, as Bob points.
“It’s over there.”
She swipes it from his pant leg, and immediately cuts the one on his neck off. She then moves to one of his hands, and as soon as that was free, Hopper takes the weapon from her and slices through everything else with a war cry. As soon as his feet were free, he practically sprung back and upwards while holding his sore neck.
“Oh, my God.” Joyce cries, taking his face into her hands. “Hopper, are you okay?”
“Joyce.” Hopper says in relief.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” He sighs and pats Bob on the arm. “Hey, Bob.”
“Hey, Jim.”
“Oh, God…” She stares as the vines start to reform. “We gotta– AH!!”
They all jumped at the new person, a man in a familiar hazmat suit who was waving them to go by. “Go! Go! Go!” He shouts, as he arms himself with a flamethrower. “Clear the area! Go!”
.
.
Back up above, the boys watched as more people began preparing to go down the hole.
“Why are they all going down there?” Will asks, puzzled. “W-What do you think the lab found out?”
“I-I don’t know.” Mike answers, honestly. “Whatever it is, they want it dead.”
“Do you think my mom’s okay?” Will’s face flashes with worry.
“Of course. The scientist wouldn’t hurt them. They just want to–” Suddenly Will lets out a painful groan as he clenches his stomach. “Will?” He tries grabbing his friend but he collapses to the ground. Mike follows him down, eyes full of fear. “Will, you okay?! Will, what’s wrong? Will!!”
But as Mike tries to flip his withering body over to get a better look, his best friend lets out an animalistic scream. Mike jumps to his feet, face paling as Will finally rolls to his back on his own -- His eyes were pointed to the back of his skull, his body acting out a violent seizure Mike’s never seen in his entire life before.
It terrifies him.
“W-Will…?” Mike chokes, the scientists slowly start moving in, watching with the same fear the young boy has, as Will continues to scream as the flames from below harm his body.
(TBC)
A/N: Here comes the crazy shit! Lol. And to add some fluff I guess, here's a drawing. Slight spoiler for the next chapter(?), But we all knew it was coming. Say Hello to the new Quartet -- "They're Going To Save Hawkins... One Argument At A Time."
See you guys next time! (Side note: I forgot how much I like Bob's character. I almost don't want to kill him off😭#Justice4Bob!)
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As i watched Dustin give his speech I literally said to my dad "I swear to GOD If he honors Eddie by doing what he would've done had he got to walk the stage, I will literally SCREAM AND DIE!!" And what do the fuckin Duffer bros do? I LITERALLY CHEERED "THAT'S MY SON! THAT'S MY SON! THAT'S MY BABY BOI!!! SUCK ON IT HIGGINS!!!" I LOVE DUSTIN Soooo much he was literally my child since day 1 back in 2016 and I swore if anything happened to him, I'd riot but now I can CHEER and be comforted that he's living his best life and he HONORED his friend by sticking it to ALL THE SQUARES OF HAWKINS!!!
🎤Series Summary: Pop Sensations by day, and Demon Hunters by night; Y/N, Steve and Robin are close to completing their goal: Sealing the world with the Golden Gate. But the bad guys have one last trick up their sleeves, a trick that makes them realize that the underworld is not exactly what it seems.
🎤Chapter Summary: The final show of their tour before their big break, but as usual, the band HELLFIRE has to deal with a little pest problem beforehand. I guess this will be one heck of an entrance for their amazing fans.
🎤Pairings: Demon!Eddie Munson x Hunter!Reader; Platonic!Stobin x Reader; Side Pairings: Jancy, Lumax, Byler
🎤Warnings: Mature Language; Death of a Minor Character; Implied Sex. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK (And let me know if I missed anything)
🎤A/N: Well, it's finally here. I've got a plan, and a goal in mind where I would like this story to go, so hopefully I execute it well and it's a enjoyable read for you guys. I do recommend reading the info below, it will help incase there's any confusion with the storyline.
Info For Story:
Color Coded: This is for when they're singing: Y/N - Steve - Robin - All
*Demo-Bats: In this series I imagine a half bat, half human kind of form rather than the actual "bats" we see in the ST series.
This series contains dialogue & scenes from the movie, but have been altered to fit the teen/mature story I was going for.
Eddie's bandmates in the future may seem like a weird pick, but bare with me, there's a reason for that.
The Band name has also been changed, and also has meaning which will be explained.
Weapons have been altered to fit the characters.
The younger characters have been aged up just a tad, which will also makes sense in the future.
Any Korean spoken in the songs has been changed to English -- and with great research, I've managed to translate it properly.
Have fun reading! ❤️
“The world will know you as Popstars. But you’re much more than that…”
“...You will be Hunters.”
.
In the capital of nearly 900k, a thousand fans of all ages were storming the stadium, waving their light up wands and jumping up and down with their homemade signs. They screamed with joy, eyes glistening as they waved to the camera documenting this once in a lifetime moment for Indiana. But despite all this going on, for centuries those fans don’t know what’s hiding below them. Monsters, Demons, or just the Supernatural if you want to call them that, were lurking in the abyss… waiting to sink their teeth into something delicious.
.
“Demons have always haunted our world. Stealing our souls, and channeling our energy back to their king… Vecna.”
.
The king of the shadows was waiting in the underworld, waiting for his minions to bring him the souls of the fans. But the fans didn’t know that their impending doom was upon them… and they certainly don’t know that their number 1 band is not only their source of entertainment, but are their saviors.
.
“Until heroes rose to defend us. Born with voices that could drive back the darkness. Singing songs of courage and hope. But Hunters are more than that. Our music ignites the soul and brings us all together.”
.
With their voices, the trio touches the souls of many men, women and children. Their souls are what creates something that’ll protect the entire world from Vecna and his predators.
.
“With this connection, the first Hunters created a shield to protect our world. The Gate. Every generation, a new trio of Hunters is chosen to fulfill our ultimate duty… to create a barrier so strong it is impenetrable that’ll keep demons and Vecna at bay…”
“The Golden Gate.”
“Now, that duty belongs to you. That victory is in your reach. It is your voices, your souls, that’ll seal the Golden Gate, and protect humanity forever.”
.
“Excuse me?” A marvelous voice cuts through the loud crowd. A woman with big curly hair, and bright blue eyes waved to a group of fans. “Excuse me– hi! Nancy Wheeler with the Mirkwood news. I was wondering if you could take a moment and tell me who your favorite member of the band is?”
The fans, with bright smiles and twinkles in their eyes, lined up one-by-one to answer their questions, one-by-one they shared their golden opinions.
“Steve’s my favorite. He’s the visual and lead dancer of HELLFIRE. Nobody can move like Steven.”
“Apparently he’s the black sheep of a wealthy family. A wild child that his parents couldn’t contain, and feared would taint their ‘perfect’ image.”
“I don’t know why they were so worried. He’s so freaking cool! I mean who else can wear a Scoops Ahoy outfit to the Met Gala?”
“Yeah, he’s the best.”
“He’s our role model. Love him.”
….
“We’re here for Robin!”
“She’s the rapper and lyricist.”
“She grew up somewhere overseas, with her mother having a giant role on Broadway.”
“She’s just the cutest!”
“And when she raps, she goes hard.”
“That’s why they call her ‘Rockin’ Robin’, ‘cause she gets real scary sometimes. So scary, so you better watch out!”
….
“We love Y/N!”
“She’s popstar royalty!”
“Apparently, her mom, a Starcourt Sister, passed away when she was an infant. So, a family friend, the manager of SS, raised her, and built HELLFIRE around her.”
“Y/N’s voice is just incredible. It’s like…”
“It brings us to tears!!”
….
“They’re taking a break after this, and they totally need it, but we’re going to miss them so–” They started screaming when lights suddenly dimmed, and an announcement played.
“Man, these fans are crazy.” Jonathan said, after shutting the camera off.
“Agreed.” Nancy says, holding her mic close. “Let’s head backstage.”
Speaking of backstage, the band’s Manager was running around frantically, trying to make sure everything was perfect and ready to go. “Everyone look alive!” She says, with a smile. “Alright! Looking good!” She points to one of the workers. “Looks good. Everything looks good. Everyone ready?” She takes a deep breath to prepare herself. “Ready. But…”
Her coffee colored eyes started looking around, her perfect expression started to crack. “Where are my kids?” It’s almost time for them to go on. Why are they not standing by the curtain? Her eyes trail around until she spots a familiar redhead who was tweaking with the lights. “Hey, Max?”
“Yeah?” She calls out, orbs not moving from her task.
“Where are the stars? Have you seen them?” The redhead shrugged and made a face which was not helping the Manger’s feelings. “Where the hell did they go?” She pulls out her phone, still a bit guilty that she has to check their location like they’re children (I mean, they are… ish. Does 17 about to be 18 still count as a child? But hey! When you have a band who randomly disappears on you, you gotta do what you gotta do).
Joyce stares and then blinks at her screen like it was going to change. Are her eyes deceiving her? Is the band, the one who are supposed to be on in less than ten minutes, are on a goddamn airplane?!
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
With your freshly painted manicure you laid your hands gently across your friends’ shoulders; Your bright (Y/E/C) eyes were all business as you began to explain what needed to be done. “Okay, this is our biggest show yet.”
“The most songs.” Robin says, copying her expression.
“The most moves.” Steve adds.
“Which means…” A sly smirk crosses your face. “The most carb loading!”
“For the fans!!!” The three of you shouted enthusiastically before devouring the table full of food like a bunch of wild animals. The trio was pretty much aware that the flight attendants that were standing a few feet away were surely getting grossed out, but did they care? No. Because what else could warm up those stone cold hearts of theirs if it wasn’t food? After devouring all the pastries, Italian cuisines, ice cream, chips, and so much more, the trio all held up their final dish.
“Alright, time for our pre-show waffles.” You said, enthusiastically, your friends all nodding.
“Happy fans, happy Gate!” They cheered and clank their forks together to dive into the delicious fluffy, flaky, golden brown waffles filled with power sugar, whipped cream, topped with perfectly sweet fruit and–
Steve’s fork barely touches the surface when he notices something. “Wait, there’s no syrup on our waffles.”
“Um, excuse me, miss?” You ask, waving your hand to get the flight attendant’s attention -- The flight attendant who’s currently watering a flower pot with scolding hot coffee…? What? Is she seriously that nervous to be in our presence?
The woman flashes a very nervous smile, head slowly turning to face the brunette “Yes, Miss Hun– Uh, I mean! Miss Hellfire!”
“We asked for some syrup–”
“Yes! Right away! You’re welcome–” She bows frantically. “Arrivederci. Goodbye.”
“Uh, okay…” Your brows pushed together. I mean, you get it, you guys were popular, but you’ve never seen a fan be that nervous before. Yet before you could express your worrying thoughts to your friends, your phone started to ring with a song that fit your manager to the T.
“Who is it?” Robin asks, in between bites.
“It’s the big boss.” You reply, waiting for them to scoot closer to you before hitting face time.
“Hi, Joyce-y!!” You all said cheerfully. The older woman looked relieved that you answered, but she almost looked extremely nervous to be talking to you three.
[ ‘Yeah, hi, uh, what are you guys doing?’ ]
“About to eat our pre-show waffles.” You said, her eyes widening at your words.
[ ‘Pre-show? What about the show-show?! --- Hey! My phone!’ ]
The three of you watched as a couple young girls came into view, faces blossoming with stardom.
[ ‘We love you!!!’ ]
“Oh, we love you, too!!” You guys reply, with stars in your orbs. Then the group changes to a couple muscular men crying tears of joy from your presence alone. “Awe, that’s so sweet!”
[ ‘Yo!’ ]
A solo fan says, excitedly pulling up his shirt to show off his tattoo on his abdomen, a giant heart with a sword piercing it and your band’s name.
[ ‘I just got this!’ ]
You and Steve wince at how painful that must be, while Robin was completely digging it. “Sick.” She says, mesmerized.
[ ‘Gimme that!’ ]
Joyce shouts and steals her phone back.
[ ‘Why are you so late?!’ ]
You spare a look with the others. “Late?”
[ ‘50 thousand fans are waiting for you.’ ]
Joyce continued as the three of you peeked out the window. Sure enough the stadium you thought you were going to be playing at tomorrow was all lit up and packed full of your fans.
[ ‘They made cute signs and everything.’ ]
The trio sends daggers at the flight crew, knowing damn well what the cause for this mix up was. ‘Cause of course they couldn’t just have ONE normal day to themselves!
[ ‘How can you be late?! I wish you were–’ ]
“Keep your shirt on, Joyce.” You cut in, your thumb hovering over the button. “We’ll be there in 3.” As soon as you ended it, all over you let out a long and frustrated groan.
“Ugh, I didn’t even eat my fucking waffles yet!” Steve says, annoyed.
“Why do they always interrupt our snacking?!”
“They will face my wrath!” Robin said, with a mouthful of Cheetos.
You groaned again as you stood up and marched over. “Um, excuse me.”
“Please take your seat.” The female attendant said as you rolled your eyes.
“Yeah, we don’t have time for this. You’re a demon, right?”
“Uh, wh-what do you mean?”
“Really?” You cock your head to the side at the obvious. “You’re smiling all weird, watering plants with coffee, and those guys–” You point to the captains who are fucking around with the controls, clearly having no flying knowledge whatsoever. “Come on.”
“O-Oh, we w-were just–”
You give her a shove, enough to make her change into her true form. “The rest of you can come out.” You said, your friends joining your side. “We’re in a hurry.”
And on cue, the rest of the crew shapeshifted back into the demon forms, making Steve hum at the selection of baddies they have the honor to fight today. “Oh, look at all of you. We got some Demo-Bats*, Demogorgons, a Spider Monster… Wow, haven’t seen one of those in a while.” He makes a pouty face. “Too bad you gotta die.”
“The only ones dying tonight are your–” One of the Demo-Bats begins, only for your stomach to make an unsettling noise. He shakes it off, ignoring your discomfort. “I said, the only ones dying tonight–”
Then the other two’s stomach rumbled. “Ugh, what?” Robin winces, making the demon irritated.
“Your fans!!” It shouted. “We’re going to eat your fans!”
“Whoa!” That snapped the three of you out of it. “No, no, no…”
“Not our fans.” You warn, as the sly smirk from earlier starts reforming.
“When you mess with our fans…” Robin shifts her stance.
“We need to make it hurt.” Steve finishes as he cracks his knuckles through his biker gloves. And on cue the plane interior turned into a blueish hue, the demons all suddenly realized that their threats might end up going empty if they don’t figure something out this instant.
“♪ Ugh, you came at a bad time ♪” You begin the song your band always opens up with, rolling out your shoulders as the trio start strutting over to their enemies.
“♪ But you just crossed the line
You wanna get wild?
Okay, I’ll show you wild! ♪”
You flick your lemon color leather jacket, before displaying the signal to unleash your friends -- The duo practically grappling two of the closest demons to the ground with a joyous expression.
“♪ Better come right, better luck tryin’, gettin’ to our level ♪” Your hands gripping the syrup dispenser, your mouth was practically watering at the thought of finishing your food (But you gotta remember the bigger picture here!). You watch from the corner of your eye as a Demogorgon lunges straight for you.
“♪ ‘Cause you might die, never the time, tryna start a battle ♪” You continue singing as you dodged all of their attacks, before kicking off one of them and throwing Steve the syrup.
“♪ Bleeding isn’t in my blood, ‘Cause I’m different from the core ♪” Steve smiles wickedly before taking the dispenser and starts smashing the demon’s face in with it. “♪ Beating you is what I do, do, do, yeah ♪”
Robin grabs the dispenser next, the trio meeting up in the middle, singing the next tune as Robin pours the syrup on all their plates.
“♪ Body on body, I’m naughty, not even sorry
And when you pull up, I’ll pull up
A little late to the party ♪”
The demons all jumped at them, but the band was all more than coordinated enough to kick them away in unison before wagging their fingers in a taunting manner. “♪ La-la-la-la ♪”
“♪ Locked and loaded, I was born for this ♪” Robin sang as she and Steve held their plates up high and ready to dive in. But you swooped in and took them away. “♪ There ain’t no point in avoiding it. Annoyed? A bit ♪” You gestured with your head that the Spider Monster was growing after it began fusing itself with some of the other demons.“♪ Light it up, step aside, your path has finally been taken ♪”
Was the spider monster terrifying? Yeah, it was. But you guys did promise your manager that you’d be at the show soon, so you better start wrapping it up as quickly as you could. The bandmates begin getting cocky, channeling all their powers to summon their weapons.
“♪ Knocking you out like a lullaby ♪”
Robin summons her butterfly knives.
“♪ Hear that sound–♪”
A spiked trenched club appears in Steve’s hands.
“♪ Ringing in your mind ♪”
A beautiful spatha sword appeared in yours, and the three of you continued your slow walk towards the demons who were debating on fighting or flying as soon as they saw what you had brought to the table.
“♪ Better sit down for the show
‘Cause I’m gonna show you… ♪”
You all grin playfully.
“♪ How it’s done, done, done ♪”
And that’s when the real fun begins. You all were quick on your feet, putting most of your focus on the growing Spider Monster before worrying about the other ones.
“♪ HELLFIRE don’t miss
How it’s done, done, done
(Hey) HELLFIRE don’t quit
How it’s done, done, done ♪”
Steve comes over and manages to slice up the last of its leg, sending it back to the underworld.
“♪ Run, run, we run the town
Whole world playin’ our sound ♪”
The jet rattles, objects flying around, demons tripping, and three plates of waffles going up in the air -- The three of you running and diving to grab your precious food.
“♪ Turnin’ up, it’s goin’ down ♪”
But as soon as they sprung up, outside the window they noticed the Bat was ironically tearing off one of the wings… along with a Demogorgon flying past while latched onto the front half of the jet.
“♪ HELLFIRE show this, how it’s done, done, done ♪”
The trio stare at their ride completely in ruins, but remain unfazed despite the severity.
“Yeah, this plane’s trashed.” Steve says, irked.
“Wouldn’t be the first time, right?” Robin adds, before the three of them chow down their plate of waffles as fast as they could. Then they all sighed with relief and satisfaction.
“Alright, let’s do this.” You said, and guided the group to the emergency exit.
“♪ Yeah, something about when you come for the crown, that’s so humbling, huh? ♪” You give off a salute as you let yourself fall into the open air -- your friends following quickly.
“♪ Why are you acting up? You started it first
Now you’re giving up, say what?
Nothing to us, run up, you’re done up, we come up
From sunup to sundown, so come out to play
Won either way, we’re one in a million
We killin’, we bring it, you want it? Okay ♪”
You ram your combat boot in between the Demo-Bats wings, spiraling it out of control. “♪ Heels, Nails- ♪” You double check your manicure before pulling out your compact. “♪ Blade, Mascara ♪” You quickly touch up your eyelashes before letting the object fly into the air.
Steve glances at the mirror while sitting on top of one of the Demos, casually fixing his hair with a comb and wireless hairdryer. “♪ Fit check for my napalm era ♪”
Robin had her arms around another Demo, casually applying blush like it was just another one of her friends. “♪ Need to beat my face, make it cute and savage ♪” She flashes a grin at the mirror, teasing the demon that growled in enlightenment. “♪ Mirror, mirror on my phone, who’s the baddest? (Us, Hello?) ♪”
“♪ Knocking you out like a lullaby ♪” Robin spins off the Demo, giving herself enough distance to summon a knife and extinguish the beast.
“♪ Hear that sound ringing in your mind ♪”
The trio put themselves in a diving position, using their powers to perfect their landing that was coming up. The crowd of a few thousand screamed and jumped up and down when the lights panned up into the night sky. One fan even pointed and shouted, “It’s them!”
“♪ Better sit down for the show
‘Cause I’m gonna show you (I’m gonna show you)
(I’m gonna show you) ♪”
You guys all land into the sea of smoke, your silhouettes appearing tall and strong as the remaining demons laid in defeat across the stage.
“♪ How it’s done, done, done ♪”
Springing up high, you use your weapons to attack and finish the blow. Yet, the Demo-Bat slipped off the stage, landing next to a couple who were fawning over the “realistic makeup”.
“♪ I don’t talk, but I bite, full of venom (uh)
Spittin’ facts, you know that’s ♪”
“Whoa! Cool costume!” They said, instating tugging on its wings to take a selfie.
“♪ How it’s done, done, done ♪” Robin flicks her wrist, the knife slicing the bat in half, and making it disappear into confetti-like dust.
“♪ Okay, like I know I ramble
But when shootin’ my words, I go Rambo
Took blood, sweat, and tears to look natural (uh)
How it’s done, done, done ♪”
You took the front stage, the spot lights landing on you as your friends walked a few paces behind.
“♪ Hear our voice unwavering
Til’ our song defeats the night
Makin’ fear afraid to breathe
Til’ the dark meets the LIGHT!!!! ♪”
Your fans’ souls begin to glow when they hear you hit that high note, every one of them pouncing out their feet and cheering, reactivating the barrier.
“♪ How it’s done, done, done ♪” The trio start dancing in sync, their fans singing along proudly.
“♪ Run, run, we run the town (done, done, done)
Whole world playin’ our sound (done, done, done)
Turnin’ up, it’s goin’ down (done, done, done)
HELLFIRE show this, how it’s done, done, done ♪”
“♪ We hunt you down ♪” You falter in your movements slightly, something catching your eye. “♪ Down, down, down (down) ♪” A flash of gold could be seen in the bluish hue, and you grin while trying to get your friends’ attention. “♪ We got you now, now, now, now (got you now) ♪”
Their own eyes light up too. And now the three of you were jumping at your own beat with excitement.
“♪ We show you how, how, how (show you how)
HELLFIRE don’t miss, how it’s done, done, done ♪”
You all strike your last pose, the song finishing just as a wave of light rushes through the Gate, the tall tail sign that it has officially been sealed once again thanks to your powerful voices.
….
“Amazing.” Joyce said, as she stared at the big screen in awe. Once again, you guys had exceeded her expectations. Although her smile stayed, she did wince a little when numbers came to mind. “That is so gonna break the bank though.”
Max snorts, and pats the woman on the back for comfort. “Good luck with that phone call.” She says, making the woman groan.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
In a place that some call the Underworld, Hunters call it “The Upside Down”, the demons the magical trio extinguished returned at the doorstep of their Master’s lair. A storm brewed above, lightning clashing in the reds and the blues, while a substance that mimicked snow rained from the sky. The demon who disguised itself as the flight attendant was walking towards a Victorian style home in a snail-like pace, petrified to face her boss yet again. As soon as her foot touched the bottom step, she rose into the air, the door opening wide as the force pulled her through.
The remaining demons winced as the door slammed shut, pretty much sealing her fate right there and then. She was dropped into a pool of red, just below her Master’s feet who was hanging from the ceiling by his vines.
“Let me guess…” His voice echoed around the room and sent a shiver up her spine. “They got away again?”
She swallows and bows her head with shame. “T-The Hunters, they’re too strong.”
Vecna let out a long sigh, a sigh you couldn’t tell if it was exhaustion, frustration, or something between the two. “I understand.”
“You do?” She said, hopeful.
“I understand that YOU’RE WEAK!!!” He screams, his telepathic powers sending her into the floor, and making her bow in child’s pose. “PATHETIC!!! USELESS!!!” The house shook with each word, as she started shaking herself. “How am I supposed to make a new world if all my soldiers are a disgrace?”
“B-But, S-Sire, their voices, they’re… they’re s-so much stronger t-than the last group.”
“You think I don’t know that? What do you take me for? A fool?”
“N-No, Sire! I-I swear, I-I meant no disresp–”
The words die on her lip as he snaps her neck and consumes the already tainted soul. “Pathetic.” He mumbles, pulling himself from the vines. With his mind he opens the door, stepping out to see the demons still kneeling in his presence. His dark eyes trailed over them, his brain swirling to find the answers.
“You!” Vecna’s elongated finger pointed towards the nearest Demogorgon, the monster made a noise that sounded like ‘me?’. “Come here.”
The Demo remains lowered and it crawls up the stairs and rests at his feet, Vecna reaching out with a low hum, his hand encasing its head. He closes his eyes, searching through the memories of the fight in the Rightside Up. He could see you, Steve, and Robin enjoying food, completely oblivious until you weren’t. Your suspicion is what made you realize that demons were on board your jet. Then the song starts, your weapons appear, and you’re slicing through his soldiers like they’re made of cardboard. He gets irked as you could see the delicious souls of your fans start to glow, your song was enough to reseal the Gate. He felt a growl in the back of his throat, completely bitter that he wasn’t finding anything useful to use against the three of you, and was about to break the connection.
Until he saw something that didn’t click with him before.
He hones in on the moment the Bat lands next to some fans, hones it on the official band tee, hones it on the band’s logo. There was something… familiar about the logo.
…And then something clicks yet again.
Vecna opens his eyes and removes his hand. Finally, after all this time, he had a solid, solid plan that might actually fucking work for once. He let a sly smile appear that honestly creeped his demons out more than when he’s angry.
“Where’s the wolf?” He asks, and almost like it appeared out of thin air (and maybe it did), a large beast comes out of the fog, a wolf-like demon that was all black and eyes like rubies. Vecna beckons him over, placing his hand now on his head. “Send him this message, and make sure he gets it immediately.”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Your final show for this tour was over, and after signing multiple autographs, posing for pictures, and answering any questions for TikTok live, you and your friends remained as cool as cucumbers until you got into the elevator. The three of you interrupted into a loud cheer, pumping your fists and jumping around like you were kids again.
“Did we just see gold?” You had to ask yourself again, because you could NOT believe it.
“Hell, yeah we did!” Steve reassures you, with a huge smile on his face.
“I-I can’t believe it! We’re like actually fucking doing it, guys!” Robin says, with a squeal.
“But do you know what this means right?” You said, looking between them. “We have to release the song.”
“Which one? Missing Out?”
“The End’s Beginning?”
“Hang In There?”
“Chauteu?”
“No.” You said, as you couldn’t contain your excitement. “The one that took us less than an hour to write with the power of eating Boppers.”
Their eyes got big, and so did their grins.
“Golden.” You said in unison, and started humming the beginning tune; But then your voice started to crack as you tried to hit a high note.
You cough, and touch your chest. “Whoa, that was weird.”
“Good think we’re taking a break.” Robin said, looking at you with concern.
“Yeah, sounds like you need a rest, (Y/N/N).” Steve says, also worried.
“No, no. I’m fine.” You said, as the elevator pulled to a stop. “I probably just need some water.”
“Did someone say water?” A familiar voice crawls in as the doors open.
The three of you waved at your manager, and some staff members, while saying, “Hi, Joyce!”
“Water, now!” Joyce says, as a bottle of water was handed over, and then the three of you start getting pampered by the staff. “What a way to end the world tour!” She looks at you guys in awe as you walk. “And that guy in the bat suit exploding into confetti? Those special effects looked amazing!”
Steve snickers under his breath. “Yeah… ‘Special Effects’.”
“This is going to break the bank–” She continues, a bit nervous. “But, according to Dustin, you’re–”
“Breaking the charts!” Dustin replies, as he appears around the corner and joins your group. He was your guys’ marketing manager/social media expert. He knew exactly what needed to be promoted, and how to promote in the right fashion. Honestly, as much as you love Joyce, she would screw up that part of the job pretty badly. So, thank Heavens for her son’s best friend. He holds up his phone, showing off the results. “You guys are fucking sky rocking again! It’s incredible. I think these numbers are larger than the last time you toured.”
Joyce nods with excitement and overall just looking really proud of you three. “To celebrate that, I booked you a week-long stay-cation at the fanciest, most expensive relaxation resort in the city!”
“Awe, well, thanks for that, Joyce. But we’ll have to decline. We’ve got plans.” Steve said, as her face fell.
“What? What kind of plans?”
“Plans with our wonderful, most comfortable, and softest, couch in the entire freaking world.”
Him and Robin linked their arms together and began chanting, “Couch! Couch! Couch!”
You shake your head at their antics, while placing your hand on your boss’ shoulder. “Joyce, this tour has been grueling for all of us, you should stay at the resort. Take your family, and the whole team with you.” You said, before pointing at the other party. “You too, Dustin. You’ve done more than enough for us.”
Joyce shakes her head. “Oh, I can’t take your vacation.”
Dustin snorts. “I can.” He replies, with his arms spread out. “Robe me. I’m a forty-eight short.” A staff member quickly slides on his robe, and pulls an eye mask over his head. He sighs blissfully, and turns on his heels to walk down a departing hallway. “See you in a couple weeks, Ladies!”
“Hey!” Steve shouts, and you and Robin laugh.
“Have fun, Boss Lady!” Robin says, which was the last thing said to Joyce as you rounded around the corner and straight for the double doors at the end. Beyond those doors was your ride back to your home where you could finally decompress.
You flash a teasing look at the two people waiting for your arrival. “Did you get all the coverage you need, Miss Wheeler?” You ask, meeting their gazes. “Or is it safe to call you Mrs. Byers?”
“Still a Wheeler until HR fixes the paper.” Nancy says, and nods. “And yes. We did get our coverage. Although…”
“Can we reschedule the interviews? We’re beat.”
“Told ya.” Jonathan said, sending his wife a knowing look.
“Of course. You guys deserve the rest.” Nancy replies.
“But, in the meantime, I told your Mother-in-law she can take our spa day for the weekend. That and the staff. So, go ahead and treat yourselves to a nice couple massage.”
“Oh.” She smiles. “I think we will.”
“And, please try to convince Joyce to go. She’s being reluctant.”
“Can do.” Jonathan said, with a mock salute. “Goodnight.”
“‘Night.” You said, as you headed outside where the driver was waiting.
“Well, look at that. It’s a family affair tonight.” Steve said, as Mike rolled his eyes.
“I drew the short straw. Literally. I’m convinced Lucas cheated.”
“Awe, don’t be sad, Wheeler. Once you’re done, you can go spend time at the resort Joyce booked for us that we politely turned down.”
Mike pauses as he opens the door. “You serious?” He asks, skeptical.
“100 percent.” Steve replies, patting him on the shoulder before getting in after the two ladies.
Mike’s face flooded with happiness. “Hell yeah!” He closes the door, and gets into the driver seat, eager to get this thing moving. “Oh, I am so going to enjoy the shit out of the resources.”
“Just keep it PG with your boyfriend while you’re there, okay?” Robin pokes, as he turns beat red.
“Robin!!” He shouts, as you all start laughing.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Back in the Upside Down, laying across what appears to be an old, run down trailer, a man was on top of the roof, his wild hair sprawled out, one leg resting on his upright knee, as his golden eyes stared at the red sky. With fingernails that were like claws, so long that he didn’t even need to use the pick around his neck to play his beloved guitar, he quietly sang a tune for his imaginary audience.
“♪ Welcome to where time stands still
No one leaves, and no one will
Moon is full, never seems to change
Just labelled mentally deranged ♪”
“♪ Dream the same thing every night
I see our freedom in my sight
No locked doors, no windows barred
No things to make my brain seem scarred ♪”
“♪ Sleep my friend, and you will see
The dream is my reality
They keep me locked up in this cage
Can’t they see it’s why my brain says “rage”? ♪”
“♪ Sanitarium
Leave me be!
Sanitarium ♪”
“♪ Just leave me alone– ♪” He springs upwards, barring his fangs at the unexpected presence behind him. His orbs that were now a blood red reverted back to its normal color upon seeing who it was; His whole body relaxing too.
“Oh. Hey, Ozzy.” He said, cracking a small smile at the wolf who was slowly walking towards him. “Long time no see. Where have you been?” As it got closer, the wolf did a tilt with his head that gave him the answer. The man quirks up a brow. “A message? After all this fuckin time?” Ozzy bows his head making him sigh. “This better be damn good.”
He places his hand on Ozzy’s head, his eyes changing once again to just pure white as the leader of this cruel world recites his message.
// EDWARD. I HAVE AN OFFER YOU CANNOT DISMISS. AND IF COMPLETE I WILL GIVE YOU WHAT YOU WANT IN RETURN //
Eddie pulls his hand away in shock. An offer? An offer that if does right he can finally have his most desired wish? The shock soon wore off as he chuckled with a mischievous grin. “Well, well, well. If it ain’t about fucking time.” He gets to his feet, stretching out before sparing a glance at his animal companion. “I take it that you’ll meet me there?”
Ozzy made a noise that he understood as a ‘Yes’, and his grin grew. “Alrighty, then. I’ll see you there.” He shifts his stance, his bat wings appear as he uses all the power he has to shoot off into the sky.
this is dedicated to my darling @brooklyncircus because you really are amazing no matter what people say. I love you so much <3
Drafted. Rewritten. Edited. Posted
11k words
11 notes
The glare of the laptop screen stared back at you, the number blinking mockingly in the dim light of your bedroom.
11k words. 11 notes
And it'd been 11 days since you posted the fic that you'd worked so hard on, that you'd poured your time, sweat and talent on every day despite the absence of check marks on your to-do list.
Your finger rolled over the mouse, clicking on a fic's 'Keep Reading' button.
18+. smut. 24k words
Didn't this author just release a longfic yesterday?
Not that you blamed her for it. You admired her, actually, with that sinking feeling of comparison; of wondering why you'd have to squeeze yourself dry just to get a certain word count when another could surpass it just as easily.
Sometimes you wonder if maybe writing just isn't for you.
The next day, it was exactly the same.
You woke up extra early just to be able to check your notifications, to hopefully see that small '99+' on your notification box. So you eagerly opened your laptop and entered tumblr only to see the two familiar digits.
11 notes.
"Maybe I'm just not writing enough," you mumbled to yourself, the pit in your stomach deepening. "Or maybe my grammar's wrong?"
But you did everything you could. You attended creative writing classes, joined seminars for aspiring literature artists, even mustered the courage to go up to your favorite author only to get shunned away by the security guard.
The feeling of wanting to give up had never been stronger.
You gently shut your laptop close, watching as the small number blinked out into black, your tears blurring the screen in the process. You let loose a small, sad sigh of defeat, laying your head on your shoulders and letting the tears streak down your cheeks.
You felt horrible for not being good enough, and worse for crying about it. But for some reason, you just couldn't stop.
"Dear?" Nanami's deep voice called out worriedly. "Are you okay in there?"
You quickly muffled your sniffles. "Yes! Just uhm- washing my face," the last two words came out shakily and you kind of wanted to hit yourself for being such a weak person.
"You don't sound okay," Trust your husband to know exactly when you aren't. "I'm coming in."
"Okay," you whispered, your head dropping back into your arms. "okay."
The next thing you felt were arms. Warm, strong arms wrapping around you, your body reacting to it almost immediately as you let out a trembling exhale and leaned towards them.
Nanami frowned. "Hey now, darling, are you all right?"
You hummed quietly, nodding your head with your face still buried in his shirt as he sat you two back down on the bed, your sad little form on his lap. "I'm okay, just... writing is really hard sometimes."
"Is this about the small hobby you said you took up?"
"Yes." you whispered.
And that's where it all spilled out; all your worries and overthinking, your insecurities and jealousy, the way you couldn't understand why the works you poured so much love and energy in were just buried by the algorithm while others got all the attention. You hated how you sounded, like a bitter, possessive, insecure person who didn't know how to be a good sport about others' successes but it was just so difficult already—you couldn't keep it in anymore.
And through all that, Nanami listened. He looked into your eyes, nodding every so often with that small frown on his face, his thumb caressing your cheeks slightly and wiping away the tears while you ranted.
The thing about Nanami is that no matter what you did, you just couldn't keep it in with him. Because, for some unexplainable reason, he made you feel cared for. Heard. He gave you a safe space to pour your heart out, whether you may be wrong or right, and he'd patch you right back up after, with gentle words or with a soft kiss that spoke more than an 11k word count could.
"Do you get it? Do I sound wrong?"
"No, sweetie," Nanami said softly, laying his forehead on yours. "I understand. I, too, think it's unfair for the system to be like that. And I still think your writing is absolutely amazing.
"But we can't change what others do," he muttered to you quietly, giving you a short, sweet kiss on the lips. "Write for yourself, honey. Not for the attention. Not for the support that others give you."
You sighed, nodding against the hands cupping your cheeks. You knew he was right. It was just... easier said than done.
"What if I write for you?" you asked, your eyes practically pleading into his. "Would that make you happy?"
"Would that make you happy?"
The lump in your throat refused to let you answer. Because you couldn't. Because you knew that it wouldn't.
"No," you finally whispered. "It wouldn't."
"Darling," Nanami said quietly, slowly. "I can't say much to help you right now. But just so you know I am always here for you. And I'll be your biggest supporter and your most loyal cheerleader."
"I know," you whispered, a watery smile on your face. "I love you."
"I love you too, honey."
And after that morning?
You continued writing. This time, when you gazed at that small number on the bottom of your post, a small smile would grace your face.
Because who cares about notes when you know your writing is truly a work of art?
Notes don't define you. Your passion does.
And oh, how you loved writing.
! note: this drabble is not a discrimination against authors who have a large number of notes or have mature content in their works. rather, i am trying to describe the sad feeling of a rather unsuccessful, smaller author (not that 11 notes mean unsuccessful!). There's no hate against anyone in this post. I hope that's clear!
and to all the insecure writers out there, don't worry about what the media says about your works. you are enough. your writing is enough. and a small number on a screen doesn't define your worth!
-A ST Rewrite Feat. Steve Harrington x Henderson!OFC-
Main Masterlist || Series Masterlist
🎲Summary: An ailing Will opens up to Joyce… with disturbing results. Steph and Steve deal with conflicting emotions, and Hopper digs for the truth. Meanwhile, Eddie starts suspecting something new about the whole Henderson/Byers disappearance.
🎲Pairings: Will x Platonic!OFC; Dustin x Sister!OC; Slow burn! Steve x Henderson!OFC (Ex-bestfriends to Lovers); Slow burn! Byler
🎲Rating: Teen-Mature
🎲Word Count: 13,420
🎲Date: 12/20/25
🎲Warnings: Heavy Angst, Language & Dialogue; Mental Strain/Breaking Down; Implied Mental Health Issues; Talks of Dying & Being Brought Back; Bullying; Lots of Crying; Heartbreak of All Kinds; Getting Choking; Blood & Seizures; Heartbreak; Lying; Death of a Pet; Possible One-Sided Attraction (With a few Characters); These Characters Need Hugs 'Cause I'm Torturing Them All Over Again; Everyone Loved Detective!Steve, So Here Come Detective!Eddie (I Promise He Won't F-Up In This Chapter). READ AT YOUR OWN RISK
(And let me know if I missed anything)
🎲A/N: Hey… Gonna act like I didn't disappear for a while. Not my intention, I swear! I just haven't been in writing mood for a while. But, hey! I'm back! Also, this is last chapter we'll see of Jonathan & Nancy (and possibility El). Everyone knows how their love story began thanks to Murray's help, so I'll be skipping their scenes until they come back to Hawkins. And, Heads up! I've only beta this once, so hopefully it makes sense (And later when I'm more rested I'll reread and touch it up just in case). Enjoy!
That fucking thing from last night came back. Stephanie still had no clue what it was, but it had gotten much, much bigger, and much, much scarier. Her heart dropped when she saw it hover over the Middle School.
Shit… She picks up the speed. Shit! Will!!
She feels like it’s that night again, the night where she woke up in the Upside Down and went to find Will, only for her to get trapped in her own mind by a nightmare version of her father. The boy has saved her so many times already, between setting her free from her sombering visions, to getting those demo-bats off her at the last second, this was the least she can do. But what will stop whatever that thing is in the sky? She and Will both carry their dedicated cassette with them at all times, so getting music would be no problem; However, will a simple song be able to do damage against the shadow monster?
As she got closer to the fence dividing their schools, she could see part of his silhouette a great distance away. “Will!!” Steph shouts, hoping to get his attention away from that thing. “Will! WILL!! Can you–”
She shrieks in surprise as her walkman suddenly catches a spark and starts to smoke. Out of instinct, slowing her speed just a bit, she starts fumbling to get it off her hip, only for the cord to immediately wrap around her throat and pull her to a complete stop. She starts clawing at the cord with her scarred covered hands, her eyes blowing wide as someone appears behind her.
.
.
Joyce threw the doors open to the middle school, immediately searching for her younger son. That video was enough proof that her son (and Stephanie) were in potential danger. The question is was he still here after all this time? And like the universe was listening, to her surprise, she heard her son’s name being called over-and-over again throughout the halls.
“Dustin!”
The boy who had just rounded the corner with Max stared at her in confusion. “Mrs. Byers?”
“What’s going on? Where’s Will?” To answer her question yet again, Lucas had thrown open another set of doors, holding his walkie and was all out of breath.
“The field!”
That got them to all book it real fast.
“Will!” Mike yelled, as he lightly shook his friend’s shoulder. He looks up to notice the group running towards him, the adult being the first one there. “I just found him like this! I think he’s having another episode!”
“Will!” Joyce takes his son’s face into her hands, his eyes closed tightly as he shook slightly. “Will! Will! Sweetie, wake up! It’s Mom!” Her baby boy felt cold under her touch, something that felt oddly familiar to her. “Will! Will, wake up! Can you hear me? WILL!!!”
.
.
Two strong hands continued yanking on the cord, her whole body trembling as she watched as someone came into her view; Someone who was a lot taller, slimmer, and had blue eyes that out matched hers. He gave her a wicked smile, as she tried choking out something.
“I know what you’re doing.” He replies, his voice echoing. “And I can’t allow that to happen.” He chuckles quietly, his tone sending shivers down her spine. “Whenever the next step happens, I’ll call upon you when your time comes.”
Then he lets her fall…
The Upside Down disappearing, her eyes rolling back, as blood pooled out of her nose…
Grant catches her first before falling to his knees. The Hellfire Club appeared around her, all shouting a mile a minute.
“Stephanie! Stephanie!!” Eddie shouts, while touching her face (Her skin was like pure ice). “Stephanie?!”
“Is she having a seizure?” Jeff asks, worriedly.
“I don’t know!” Eddie’s panicked expression lands on Gareth, who is the only one still standing. “Gareth! Go! Go get help!” The boy nods frantically before sprinting back to the school. “Stephanie, come on, man. Can you hear me?” He taps her cheeks, but gets no response, which makes the panic sink in more. “Stay with us! You hear me? Stephanie!?!”
.
.
Inside his mind, Will continues to choke as the shadow entity enters his body from all angles…
His friends watched with uncertainty as his mother pleaded for him to snap out of it.
“Will, please, just wake up. Please, wake up!” Joyce begs, and gives his shoulders a tiny tug.
Will felt his body grow colder and colder, his brain slowly losing focus…
“It’s Mom! It’s me!”
Something clawed in the back of his head, something that was whispering horrible things into his ears…
“WAKE UP! PLEASE!”
Something was telling him to…
“WILL!!!”
.
.
.
He gasps awake with a new green hue in his eyes.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Joyce carefully guided her son out of the field, through the school, and straight for the car as his friends watched him from the stairs above. Max, who was not as calm as the rest of them were, finally broke the uncomfortable silence. “Okay, that totally freaked me out. Did that not freak you guys out?”
Lucas frowns out of concern, his eyes following the car as it pulls out of the parking lot. “Two episodes in two days.”
“It’s getting worse.” Mike points out.
“You think it’s True Sight?”
Max raises an eyebrow. “What’s True Sight?” She asks, as Mike shakes his head subtly at his friend.
“It’s nothing.” Lucas admits quietly. The Party started to disband after this, yet stopped when they noticed something in the next lot over; An ambulance was parked with its lights still flashing.
“What’s going on there?” Mike asks, curiously.
And that’s when a realization struck Dustin hard. “...Phanie.”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
The EMT took the blood pressure cuff off while his partner finished flashing the light in her eyes. “Well, your vitals are normal.” He explains, while she sits in the back of the ambulance.
“And no concussion.”
“Okay. Then what’s wrong with her?” Jeff asks, the worriedness coming back.
“Nothing. Her vitals are fine.”
“Fine?” Gareth scoffs. “She had like a gallon of blood coming out of her nose! Do you not see her shirt?”
He ignores the teenager and looks at Steph. “I recommend a lot of rest, more water, and maybe some orange juice. You could just be dehydrated and that’s what made you faint.”
“Unbelievable.” The boy mutters as they move out of the way to pack up.
Stephanie, whose gaze looked like it was a hundred yards away, finally looked up at them. “W-What… what happened?”
“You don’t remember?” Eddie asks, scanning her head-to-toe for anything out of the ordinary. She shakes her head. “Well, you met up with us, Grant said something about it being cold, you said ‘Will’, and then ran like hell.”
“I did?” She said, confused. He nods. “I… I remember getting into the field… I don’t remember anything after that.” She touches the side of her head with a small pain. I don’t remember. This is just like after those bats kil–
“PHANIE!!!” A voice erupts, and the Hellfire Club all look up.
“Dustin?” She croaks, as he nearly plows over everyone just to get to her. “I thought you’d be home already.”
He gives her a quick hug, ignoring her curiosity. “First Will, now you? What’s going on? You guys’ are going to make me go gray, and I’m only thirteen!”
Her eyes widened. “Will? What happened to him?”
“I don’t know. He had some kind of episode out in the field.”
Eddie perks up at the world, while his friend was about to ask her little brother something else before their mother showed up.
“Stephanie!” Claudia runs over, nearly out of breath from sprinting. “Baby! What happened to you?”
Eddie and the others watched the exchange go on, the EMTs chiming in for the worrying mother; But as the boys were also feeling the same, the dungeon master was feeling something else. Something in the back of his mind finally reopened. Call it curiosity, being inquisitive, or whatever else word comes to mind, but Eddie knew one thing at this moment…
He was going to get to the bottom of whatever his friend was going though.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
“I can’t remember.” Will said, as he and his mom sat at the dinner table.
Joyce sighs. “I need you to try.”
“I... I was on the field and... and then it… it all just went blank, and... and then you were there.”
“Will, I need you to tell me the truth.”
“I-I am.”
Joyce takes a deep breath before getting up and coming back with a stack full of drawings. She places down the one she drew over the TV with parchment paper -- Will’s eyes widened with realization. “This shape, I saw it on the video tape from Halloween night. It’s the same shape as–” She pulls out the one he drew of the arcade. “As your drawing. And this one–” She then shows him the one of the silhouette drawn in red. “Is this supposed to be Stephanie?”
He swallows. “M-Mom–”
“These episodes that you’re having, I know they’re real. But... but I-I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on. I need to know if you’re in danger. Or if Stephanie is. So, you have to talk to me. Please. No more secrets, okay?” She watches him nod. “Okay. Did... did you see this thing again on the field?”
He nods again. “Yes.”
“What... what is it?”
Will feel his eyes start to sting. “I don’t know. It’s… It’s al-almost more l-like a feeling.”
“Like the one you had that night at the arcade?”
“Y-Yes.”
Joyce briefly bites her lip before asking, “What does it want?”
“I don’t know. It came for me, and…” Will shutters as the tears started to fall. “A-And I tried. I-I tried to make it g-go away. B-But it got me, Mom.”
“Well, what does that mean?”
“I-I felt it... everywhere. Everywhere. I…” Another shutter. “I still feel it. I just want this to be over!”
Joyce pulls her trembling son into a hug. “It’s okay. It’s okay.” She comforts. “Hey– Listen. Look, look at me.” She pulls back to cup his face. “I will never, ever let anything bad happen to you ever again. Whatever’s going on in you, we’re gonna fix it. I will fix it. I promise. I’m here.”
He nods once again before they pull back together for a hug.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Steve came home rather late, too busy thinking about the last few years of his and Steph’s friendship, too busy looking for the signs of her obvious crush on him, that he wasn’t expecting to see Hopper standing on the front porch while aggressively smoking. The teenager felt himself pale a bit because all he could think about was he did something wrong; ‘Cause why else would Hopper be standing outside in the cold like this?
“Hopper?” He said, bracing himself for the anger that may get directed towards him. “What is–” A rustle of leaves behind him made him turn around and go wide eyed. “El? What are you doing outside?” She says nothing as she passes by them both. “El?” Hopper then moves after discarding his cigarette. “Hopper? What is going on?”
Steve follows behind, nearly getting the front door slammed into his face as the adult of the house begins to explode.
“‘Friends don’t lie’. Isn’t that your bullshit saying?” He shouts, as El heads for her room, throwing the door back with her mind. “Hey, hey! Hey!” He snags the door before it could shut, earning a glare from the girl. “Don’t walk away from me!”
“Can someone fill me in?” Steve cuts in, wondering if he has to play devil advocate or peace keeper.
Hopper’s jaw clenches as he jerks his finger at her. “She decided to leave the house. On her own.”
Steve’s eyes go big again. “What?”
“Where’d you go on your little field trip, huh? Where? Did you go see Mike?”
She breaks her eye contact. “He didn’t see me.”
“Yeah, well, that mother and her daughter did and they called the cops. Now–” He makes sure she’s really listening. “Did anyone else see you? Anyone at all? Come on, I need you to think!”
“Nobody saw me!”
Hopper sucks in a breath and starts pacing. “You put us in danger. You realize that, right?”
“You promised…” El croaks. “I go! And I never leave! Nothing ever happens!!”
“Yeah! Nothing happens and you stay SAFE!!!” He snaps while his fist slams into the dresser, rattling everything on it.
Steve swallows, taking a step forward into the room, “Hopper–”
“YOU LIE!!” El shoots back.
“Eleven–” Steve says, trying to get them to calm down before it gets too out of hand. “Let’s take a breather–”
“I don’t lie!” Hopper says, stepping past Steve towards her. “I protect and I feed and I teach! And all I ask of you is that you follow three simple rules. Three rules. And you know what? You can’t even do that!” She grits her teeth and stomps her foot as the adult makes up his mind. “You’re grounded. You know what that means?” He leaves the room, heading for the fridge. “It means no Eggos–” He grabs the boxes and tosses them into the trash. “And no TV for a week.”
Hopper comes over to move the TV stand into his own room, but it wasn’t budging. He sighs and looks her way, El clearly was using her powers to keep it in place. “Alright, knock it off. Let go.”
Steve casts his gaze between the two, worriedly. “Yeah, El, I would recommend doing that. Trust me.”
“Yeah, listen to Steve. Let go.” Hopper says, as he tries again. “Okay. Two weeks.” He tries again. “Let go!”
“El, listen to Hopper. Please.” Steve pleads, as she shakes her head.
“A month!”
“No!” She yells, which was the final straw for him.
“Well, congratulations. You just graduated from no TV for a month to no TV at all!” He yells back, as he unplugs it.
“No!” El runs over, immediately messing with the antennas to get it to come back on. “No! No! No!”
Hopper pinches the bridge of his nose. “You have got to understand that there are consequences to your actions.”
“You are like Papa!!!” She screams, shocking Steve at the comparison, while Hopper just scoffs.
“Really? I’m like that psychotic son of a bitch? Wow!” He shakes his head. “Alright. You wanna go back to the lab? One phone call. I can make that happen.
She sends another cold glare his way. “I hate you.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not so crazy about you, either. You know why? ‘Cause you’re a brat. You know what that word means? How about that be your
word for the day, huh? Brat.” He snags the dictionary off the coffee table. “Why don’t we look it up? B-R-A-T. Brat.” He tosses it her way, only for her to stop it mid air. With fire in her eyes she throws it back at him with full force.
“Hey!” He says, in shock. “What the hell is wrong with you?” She then moves the couch towards, hitting him in the shin and knocking him over.
“Hopper!” Steve said, rushing over as El rushed into her room.
“Hey! Hey!” Hopper recovers quickly, his fists coming over to pound on the lock door. “Hey! Hey! Open this door! Open the damn door! You wanna go out in the world? You better grow up! Grow the HELL UP!!!”
And then with an animalistic scream, the house shook before all the lights and windows suddenly burst with a powerful force.
“Jesus Christ!” Steve yells, him and Hopper covering their faces from the raining glass. I mean, they knew she had one hell of a mind, but god damn. It felt weird when her powers were directed towards them and not the enemy. “Jesus… Hop?”
Hopper was already cursing something under his breath, obviously still fired up as he leaves the house for a breather. Steve sighs, then bites in his lip with worry when he could hear her quietly sobbing. I guess to answer his question earlier, no, he was neither playing the devil or angel role today. At this very moment he was just a worthless spectator.
He closes his exhausted eyes, and rests his head on the door frame. Jesus. This week keeps getting shitter, doesn’t it?
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
In the early morning of the next day, the receptionist of the local police department, Flo, was tired, and mostly just really, really annoyed. She crossed all her fingers and toes, and prayed that the phone wouldn’t ring again like it has a billion times in the last two hours. But why would she ever be allowed any peace in this crazy town? She sighs loudly, and grabs the receiver.
“Hawkins Police.” She replies, knowing damn well who’s on the other side.
[ ‘Flo, it’s Joyce again.’ ]
“Oh, hi, Joyce.” Flo says, trying to sound like she wasn’t on her fifth cup of coffee. “Listen, I gave him your message–”
[ ‘He’s still not there?’ ]
“No, but–”
[ ‘Did he get any of my messages from yesterday? Did you give–’ ]
Flo nods eagerly like Joyce could see it. “Yes, do you wanna talk to anyone else? Like Officer Powell, or Callahan? I’m sure they’ll be happy to assist you.”
[ ‘No, no, I need Hopper. Just tell him to call me the second he gets in. Please. Thank you.’ ]
“Bye.” She sets the phone down. Lord, let me have strength with these people today.
“Excuse me?”
Figures. She swivels her chair around with a forceful smile. “Yes? How can I help you?”
Eddie flashes a smile back. “Hi, I’m doing a school project where I have to make an oral report on a local news story, and I was wondering if there were any public records I could see?”
“Which ones?”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Joyce set the receiver down in a huff. Seriously?!
Out of the times she really needs Hopper, he’s not even there! She sighs, turning around to see her son was out of bed. “Hey.” She says, with a smile as he comes to sit down at the table. “How you feeling, sleepyhead? Any better?” He shrugs. “Same as last night? Still weird?”
He nods slowly. “Yeah.”
Joyce touches his forehead, testing it for a fever. It was strange, he felt fine, but his face looked all red. “Alright. I’m gonna check your temperature, okay?” After putting the thermometer under his tongue, she waited a full minute before pulling it out. “Okay, let me see.”
Will watches his Mom’s face shift into confusion and gets scared. “Is it a fever?”
“No. Uh, actually, it’s cold. Do you feel cold?”
“No. Just a little out of it. Like I haven’t really woken up yet.” Will notices another facial change. “You promised no doctor.”
“And I meant it. No doctor.” She reassures. “You know what? I’m gonna run you a nice bath and it’ll warm you up and hopefully get you feeling better. How’s that sound?”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
After feeding Dart, Dustin leaves his room where his sister was heading back to hers. “Have fun at school.” She says, while patting the ends of her wet hair with a towel.
“Thanks. You going to be okay?” He asks, as she nods reassuringly (As much as she could be in the moment).
“Yeah. I’m just going to rest up.”
“Alright.” He gives her a quick hug. “I’ll see you later.”
“Later, Dusty.” She pats his hat while he pulls away, and listens to him telling their mother the same ‘goodbye’. He’ll be alright. He’s a smart kid.
She enters her bedroom, tossing her towel into the hamper before fishing around her drawer for one of her oversize hoodies. All she wanted to do was get comfy and warm. Comfy because she wanted to relax, warm because she felt absolutely freezing. I mean she gets it, it’s November, but there’s no snow yet and usually these 60 degree temps don’t really get to her since she’s used to it.
Maybe I’m catching somethin’. She thought as she finished putting on the yellow hoodie, and fixed her semi-damp hair. Her rough fingers stopped at her neck, her locks were long enough to block the blotchy patch from anyone looking at her straight on. Steph winces at the memory of the demo-bat. Her tired blue orbs trailed from her free standing mirror to her calendar on the wall.
A couple more days. It was just a couple more days until the anniversary of hers and Will’s disappearance (or, kidnapping, really). Just a couple more days to feel like crap, and everything should go back to normal. Hopefully. ‘Cause I don’t know how much more she can take any of this.
She sighs, eyes shifting back to–
She jumps a foot backwards when she finds someone staring back at her in the glass. Her heart pounded in her ears, as she backed into her nightstand. She felt a chill run up her spine as she fumbled around for something when she saw the person smile. Her nails dig into her thick history book before throwing it at full force. The mirror cracked and tipped over with a thud, the light overhead flickered once as she felt a pain in her head.
Yet, the headache went away as quickly as it came.
And so did the chill…
And the racing heart…
The teenager felt herself blink in confusion, and quickly wiped her nose with the back of her hand when she felt it bleed. She made a noise of disgust, turning around to grab a tissue from the box.
“Ugh, seriously?” She groans quickly, ready to head back to the bathroom to clean up when she notices the mirror. “What the hell?” She gets closer to assess the damage while being mindful of the broken glass. She groaned again, upset. “Hey, Mom?” She leaves the room to look for her. “My mirror broke.”
“Your mirror broke?” Claudia calls out from some place in the house.
“Yeah. I don’t know how though. Maybe Mews jumped on it?”
The two women continued to converse to uncover a mystery, unaware the lights flickering on and off in the bedroom.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
“Because I love you.”
.
Steve’s hand shook slightly as his thumb ran over the S.H. engraving, the heart shaped pick necklace that he gave her all those years ago; The one she supposedly still wore even after their friendship ended; The one that Dustin yelled and threw into his face while they were searching for Eleven in the woods. The chain was broken, so no wonder it fell off when the Demogorgon chased her and Will to his home. Did she even notice it went missing? He almost doubted it, but her words from yesterday were a reminder that maybe she did.
.
She could barely look into his shocked face, barely keep herself from bursting into tears again, as she decided to come clean. “I love you. How could I not? After everything you’ve done for me, how can I not fall for you?” Her chest tightens from the hurt. “And… after the little crush on Nancy, I… I didn’t want to say anything because… you’re my best friend. I didn’t want to ruin the best relationship I had in my life. And…”
.
He still had all the pictures in his box, all the mementos he could keep were inside, most were now sprawled out onto his bed. Arcade tickets, candy wrappers, polaroid photos of various settings, a slap bracelet from the time they were rollerskating (He still remembers her death grip on his hand because she was such a terrible skater). His fingers reached out for his old black bow, the same one he wore to the Snowball Dance.
.
She felt her eyes sting (and she’s sure some tears might have slipped out now). “And even though it hurt… I still just wanted to be with you.” She bittersweetly smiles. “I love you, Steve Harrington, and I always will.”
.
Memories flooded in of that night. Everything was perfect, his little black and white tux, Stephanie’s ruffled blue dress -- a color that brought out her eyes -- the music, the dancing, the photobooth…
The drinking, the laughing, the theatrics, Benny’s burgers, the moonlight, the touching…
It’s a bit blurry but he remembers them sitting on the picnic table surrounded by food, the fairy lights made her freckles sparkle. He recalls the whole conversation…
.
“Hey… Hey… I wanna… I wanna tell you something.” Steve slurs, leaning his upper body against the picnic table. The two of them had snuck away from the ‘Snow Ball’ and decided to be a little naughty. He somehow managed to sneak in some alcohol to celebrate them going into the Teen Years.
Stephanie giggles, a bit of a ditzy drunk. “W-What? Spit it out, S-Stevie.”
“Ooookay…” He leans forward more. “Fia… I… I l-love you.”
She hums, smiling. “Well, I love you too, Steve.”
“Noooo, no. N-Not like that.” He says, partially laying half his body over the table now to grab her hand. “Like… I love you, love you.”
.
Steve closes his eyes, thinking. So, did she actually remember it?
That memory had been fuzzy for a while, but the one thing that was crystal clear was the kiss they had shared. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it was enough to make the dizziness he was experiencing even more prominent, but in a good way.
I didn’t think she remembered. They went to school the next day, both with terrible headaches and conversations about their next classes. They never talked about the kiss.
Right?
Or… did I miss something? He felt his stomach drop at the thought. If he missed the way her eyes twinkled with love for him, what else did he miss in their long time friendship?
A knock on his door pulled him out the ditch, and Steve got off his bed to open it. “What’s up, Hop?”
The man, who still looked physically and mentally drained from yesterday’s altercation, asked him, “Are you going to school, or not?”
His eyes widened. “Shit. What time is it?” Steve asks, while checking his watch. Sure enough he should’ve left 20 minutes ago. “Shit!” He scrambles to grab his backpack and gym bag, feeling the Chief’s concern gaze on him.
“What’s that?” Hopper asks, out of curiosity as he points to the items spilled on the bed.
“Uh… just some old memories. I’ll clean it up later.” Steve replies, as he brushes by Hopper. “See you tonight. I’ll try not to be out late again.”
“Later, kid.” Hopper watches him go before letting out a long sigh as he closes the teenager’s door.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
When Dustin arrived at school and noticed his friends weren’t in the front, he had a sinking feeling about what they were doing. Quick on his feet, he ran towards the back of the school to find them dumpster diving.
Okay, let’s not jump to conclusions, Henderson. Maybe they accidentally threw something away? He tries to play it cool and not look too worrisome as he asks, “What the hell’s going on?”
“What do you think?” Mike said, as he and Max were on standby. “We’re looking for Dart.”
Of-fucking-course you are! Before he could protest, a trash bag flew out and almost hit him. “Jesus!”
Lucas comes flying out a few seconds, a look of irritation on his face while he looks at Dustin. “Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to show up. After I drew the short straw. Real convenient.”
“Ugh. You stink!” Max said, backing away from him and coming to stand next to Dustin.
The boy flashes a toothless grin at his crush. “Hi, Max.”
She quirks up a brow. “Hi.”
“Where’s Will? Is he staying home, too?”
“He’ll be here.” Mike said, before pausing. He suddenly recalls the talk he and Will had after his episode on Halloween night; He vaguely remembers Will telling him the only person who really understood what was going on was a certain teenager. “Wait. Did Stephanie stay home? Was that who the ambulance was for yesterday?”
“Wait. Your sister has these episodes, too?” Max asks, trying to fill in the missing gaps since NO one is sparing any details.
“I think so…” Dustin says, a bit uncertain on how much he wanted to share about yesterday.
“Do you think Will’s mom took him to the hospital? Do you think he’s there now?” Her question got the boys to worriedly look at one another. Maybe she was right. Maybe he really wasn’t coming to school and is back in the hospital.
“Well if he doesn’t show, we’ll check on him after school.” Mike replies. “Right now, let’s just focus on finding Dart.”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
[ ‘Hey, you reached Jim. I’m probably doing something incredible right now and I can’t–’ ]
“Mom.” Will’s voice cuts in as Joyce puts the phone down back on the receiver for the millionth time today.
“Yeah, sweetie, what is it?” She asks, as she walks over to the bathroom doorframe where he was standing.
“It’s too hot.”
With her brows pushed together, she makes her way over towards the tub where she sees he pulled the plug; The water going down the drain fast. She sighs quietly. “I... I can cool it down a little bit, baby, but we gotta get your body temp back up.” I mean, to be honest, she didn’t even make the water that hot. It was just above lukewarm. “So, Will, I can–”
“No.” He snaps with aggression she’s never heard for.
“What?” Joyce’s head whips around back to him, her son’s eyes blown wide with an emotion that she hasn’t seen either.
“He likes it cold.” He whispers, and then turns to walk back to his room.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
When the last window was boarded up, which was a quarter past 10, Hopper decided it was time to haul his ass to work. He glances at the door of pseudo-daughter’s bedroom, a face full of anger and guilt. Sometimes he wonders if he’s even raising her right -- Raising both her and Steve right. He didn’t miss the way Steve’s eyes weren’t shimmering right this morning. There was something else that was hurting him other than his breakup with Nancy.
Hopper sighs while getting into his truck. I’m going to have to have a serious talk with both of them tonight.
[ ‘--me in, Hop.’ ]
Flo’s voice crackled through the radio.
[ ‘Come in, Hop.’ ]
Another sigh. What could be happening today in Hawkins now? Another Pumpkin field mystery? Some other bullshit with the lab? He picks up the receiver. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m on my way in, and, yes, I do know what time it is.” He replies, as he starts fiddling in his pocket for a cigarette.
[ ‘Joyce Byers has called eight times already this morning. Eight times. For my sake, please deal with her! Oh, and–’ ]
He squeezes his eyes shut at the name. Joyce, seriously? What’s wrong now?
Either this was the biggest news he’s gonna have all week, or it’s gonna be nothing. There’s no in between with her. Should he wait to finish his cigarette before going? Or was he going to be needing it?
[ ‘--kid came by and asked for some public records–’ ]
Flo pauses on the other side when she realizes he wasn’t listening.
[ ‘Hop?’ ]
“What?” He said, getting pulled from his thoughts.
[ ‘Never mind. It can wait till later. Just go see Joyce, please, before she calls me again.’ ]
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Stephanie places the tin in the sink before turning on the stove, letting the contents shimmer in the pot. Her mother passes by with her purse and keys, and double checks she has everything while she’s at the door.
“Okay, Mews need more cat food. And your brother asked me to get him some Nougat.”
“Nougat?” Steph said, confused. “Didn’t he get enough 3 Musketeers at Halloween?”
“I don’t know. I guess he went through them. You know those are his favorites.”
She snorts. “That’s an understatement.”
“Do you need anything from the store?”
“Just some more chicken noodle? And maybe some Ginger Ale?”
“Chicken noodle and Ginger Ale. I got it. Love you.”
“Love you, too.” The girl says, as her mother steps out the door. She starts occasionally stirring the soup with the ladle, patiently waiting. After a few minutes the phone started to ring. She pivots her heels and reaches over the counter for the phone. “Henderson residence.”
[ ‘Hey.’ ]
Steph eyebrows shoot up. “Grant?” She said, surprised.
[ ‘Yeah. It’s me.’ ]
She could hear the chaos of their school in the background.
[ ‘How are you doing– Uh, feeling? How are you feeling?’ ]
Like shit. She wanted to respond, but didn’t want to make him (or the others, ‘cause she’s sure they’re lingering behind him) worried. “Uh, tired. How’s school?”
[ ‘Uh, it’s fine. Lonely without you and Eddie.’ ]
His sadden reply got her all curious. “Eddie’s not there?”
[ ‘No. He’s not. So, the guys and I were just wondering if he was there with you?’ ]
“He isn’t. Did he mention he was going to?”
[ ‘No. I just thought since yesterday maybe he was giving you company.’ ]
She winces at the memory. She’s never seen him freak out so much (and that was coming from a guy who’s been overdramatic since birth). She frowns, now worried herself. “Well, I don’t know where he is. I mean, I could try calling his trailer?”
Tick. Tock.
[ ‘No, we already tried. It just kept ringing. I guess we’ll try again after school. I just thought it was a little weird since he’s trying to graduate.’ ]
Tick. Tock.
“That is weird.” She admits, as she presses her open hand up to the bridge of her nose -- a headache felt like it was going to bloom, but she pushes through it. “Maybe something is going on with Wayne? We can’t think too negatively just yet.”
Tick. Tock.
[ ‘That’s true.’ ]
There was a brief pause and a shuffle.
[ ‘Well, uh, do you want to do anything later if you’re up to it? Maybe we can do a movie night again?’ ]
His words were bringing a bit of hope to her as she cracked a smile.
Tick. Tock.
“Yeah. That sounds–”
She froze.
Mind going blank.
Gears Twirling.
[ ‘Steph? You there? Steph?’ ]
The phone slips from her grip, the soup starting to overflow as she turns around…
Four Chimes.
She leaves the room, something pulling on those invisible strings as she slept, and guides her into her brother’s room. She throws the door wide open, her hand snagging one of Dustin’s thick science books and heads straight for the planetarium…
Where she proceeds to smash open the glass…
.
.
.
With Dart soon falling to the floor.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
“Steph?” Grant tests out again as he hears silence on the other end. “Hello? You there? Henderson?” He waited a few more seconds before placing the phone back on its receiver.
“What happened?” Jeff asks, as he and Gareth were waiting for an answer.
Grant sighs in defeat. “Well Eddie’s not with her. I then asked her about a movie night, and she was giving me an answer before…”
“Before, what?” Gareth pushed.
“I don’t know.” Grant shrugs. “She just trailed off.”
Jeff exhales sharply. “This is getting weirder and weirder.”
“So, what’s the plan? ‘Cause she’s clearly still out of it. And god knows what our DM is doing.”
Gareth scratches his chin thinking. “Okay.” He says, getting their attention. “Let’s touch base with Eddie after school. He doesn’t disappear without reasoning. My money is that it’s about our Ranger.” He gets a few satisfying nods from his buddies. “Great. Freaks stick together.”
“Freaks stick together.” They repeat.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Well this day just keeps getting worse. Steve grimaces, ‘cause in reality the whole fucking week was turning out to be shitty. Let’s recap, shall we? Let’s see…
He had lied to Barb’s parents about their daughter’s “disappearance”.
His college application process has sucked.
He’s got a new teen in town who somehow has it out for him because– what? He used to be the “King of Hawkins High”?
Then his girlfriend breaks up with him at the biggest party of the year.
Then his ex-best friend confessed her feelings for him while warning him to stay away from her little brother.
And then El and Hopper are in a big showdown and he’s caught in the middle. Oh! And the best part of all this?
It’s not even close to being over. Just like at yesterday’s basketball practice, Billy-freaking-Hargrove is kicking his ass yet again. I mean– How the hell is he so fucking good at this game?
Now all Steve wanted to do was just be done with the school day… or week really. Can Thanksgiving break come any quicker?
But why would life give him a rest? As Steve stands in the shower, suds in his hair and all over his body, his “enemy” comes up next to him with a shit eating grin.
“Don’t sweat it, Harrington.” He says, as Steve tries to ignore his presence. “Today’s just not your day, man.”
Yeah, I fucking know that. Steve tries not to groan when he sees one of his old buddies coming closer too.
“Yeah. Not your week.” Tommy said, smirking too. “You and the princess break up for one day, she’s running off with the freak’s brother.”
That got Steve’s attention, and it showed. Nancy and Jonathan are…? There’s no way she moved on already…
Right?
And Tommy fucking laughs. “Oh, shit. You don’t know? Jonathan and the princess skipped yesterday. Still haven’t shown. But that must just be a coincidence, right?” Then he laughs again, plucking his towel off the rack and leaving; But not before he quips with, “Hey, maybe you and Zombie Girl can give it another go? Seeing how you kept her around for entertainment.”
It took all the strength in Steve’s body not to deck him and break his nose. Entertainment? Is that what everyone thought about him and Stephanie’s friendship? She was just… a jester for him?
“Awe.” Billy pouted in a teasing way. “Don’t take it too hard, man. A pretty boy like you has got nothing to worry about.” (He almost sounds sincere, Steve thought.) “And uh–” He takes a step closer, a hand coming to touch his shoulder. “If you don’t take Henderson back, I will.”
Steve sends him a look of mixed emotions, Billy chuckling as he continues, “Yeah. Regarding Hagen’s comment about her, I don’t see her like that. Especially with all the stories I’ve been hearing about her and her ‘grand’ escape from her kidnapper. It makes her way more interesting to the rest of these girls here. But…”
Billy pats his back. “If she doesn’t go for any one of us, there’s plenty of bitches in the sea. Am I right? I’ll be sure to leave you some.”
And then Steve was left alone in the now cold shower.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Hopper arrived at the Byers residence in record time, immediately putting his guard up when he noticed the door was wide open. Cautiously he went inside.
“Leave it open.” Joyce’s voice breaks through as she comes into view while nursing a cigarette. “Where the hell have you been?”
“I overslept.” He replies, muscles relaxing as he takes off his hat. “What the hell’s going on? It’s freezing.” His complaint goes ignored as she waves for him to follow into Will’s bedroom. After a brief explanation, Hopper needs a moment to take it all in before asking any questions himself.
“So this thing, this shadow thing–” He gestures to the drawings. “You told your mom it likes it like this. It likes it cold?”
Will, who was still in nothing but his boxers, nodded. “Yeah.”
“How do you know that?” Hopper asks, worried/skeptical.
“...I just know.”
“Does he talk to you?”
“No. It’s like… I don’t have to think. I just know things now. Things I never did before.”
“And, uh…” Hopper moves to the chair across from him, getting his full attention. “What else do you know?”
“It’s hard to explain.” Will begins, uncertain. “It’s like old memories in the back of my head, only... they’re not my memories.”
What the hell does that even mean? Hopper thinks. “Okay.”
“I mean, I don’t think they’re old memories at all. They’re… they’re now-memories happening all at once, now.”
“Can you describe these now-memories?”
Will frowns. “I don’t know. It’s… it’s hard to explain.”
Joyce touches his shoulder reassuringly. “I know it’s hard but can you just... Can you try? For us?” Her words seemed to sooth him, to make the push as he began to get teary eyed again.
“It’s like… They’re growing and spreading… killing.” The boy’s voice cracks, as these now-memories of a strange looking tunnel flashed before his mind.
“The memories?”
Will’s lower lip begins to quiver. “...I-I don’t know.” He chokes out as he breaks down and starts crying.
“Oh!” Joyce almost breaks herself as she engulfs him in a hug.
“I’m sorry.” He sobs.
“No, no, no. It’s okay, sweetie.” She reassures him as she spares a glance at Hopper. The two of them silently communicated their next move, and that’s when Joyce broke the hug to ask him something. “Hey, hey, sweetie… what if you didn’t have to use words?”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
[ ‘Hey, you’ve reached the Byers. We’re sorry–’ ]
Mike sighs as he puts the phone down. Another no answer. Now he was getting worried. Was Will really at the hospital? Was Will in more danger than he thought?
“Anything?” Lucas asks, as Mike joins the rest of them on stairs.
“We need to talk. AV room. Right now.” The brunette says, his friends standing up to follow him– His eyes land right on Max. “Party members only.”
Dustin frowns. “Come on, Mike–”
“No! This is non-negotiable.” He replies, and heads inside.
Dustin flashes her an apologetic look. “Sorry, Max.”
“Sorry.” Lucas mumbles, and they head inside as well.
Once they were inside the room, Mike began to explain everything, “Will didn’t want me to tell anyone, but on Halloween night he saw a sort of shadow in the sky.”
“A shadow?” Lucas asks, sparing a glance at his other friend.
“Wh-What kind of shadow?” Dustin asks, worriedly, his mind was racing with a thousand questions and theories already.
“I don’t know.” Mike frowns worrisome. “But it scared him. And if Will really has True Sight– I mean, if he can really see into the Upside Down, maybe he saw that shadow again yesterday.”
“So that’s why he was frozen like that?”
“Maybe.”
“Can it hurt him?” Lucas questions with unease. “I mean, if this shadow thing isn’t from our world…”
“I’m not sure.” Mike admits. “Dustin?”
Dustin hums, thinking. “Well, if you’re in another plane, you can’t interact with the material plane, so theoretically, no, the shadow can’t hurt him.”
“Yeah, IF that’s even what’s happening. This isn’t D&D. This is real life.” His words dug at them hard. Because their friend was in possible danger again. A danger that was new and wasn’t sure how to even stop it.
“Stephanie–” Lucas begins, getting Dustin’s attention. “Will mentioned yesterday that she sometimes sees what he sees. Does that mean something’s coming after her, too?”
Dustin’s face floods with distress. That could explain… everything, really. “She fainted yesterday.” He says, all eyes on him now. “That ambulance we saw was for her.”
“She fainted?”
“That’s what the paramedics said. But her friends told me it looked like she was having a seizure. Eyes rolling back, blood coming out of her nose. A lot of it. You should have seen the front of her shirt.”
Lucas and Mike spared a glance. “Where did she faint at?” The Wheeler asks, dreading the answer.
“The field.” Dustin replies.
“Do you think she saw the shadow?” Lucas said, trying to piece everything together.
“Maybe.” Mike wonders, while scratching his head. “But if she did, why did Will freeze up while she fainted?”
Lucas lets out a long sigh. “So what do we do?
“We acquire more knowledge. I’ll go to Will’s after school. See what’s going on. You guys stay here and find Dart.” Mike decides, as he starts grabbing his bag to leave.
Dustin perks up at the name. “Dart? Why are we still looking for him?”
“Will heard him in the Upside Down. I don’t know how yet, but he’s gotta be connected to all this. He’s gotta be. If we find Dart, maybe we can solve this thing. Maybe we can help Will and your sister.”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Never in his eighteen years of life has Edward “Eddie” Munson studied this hard before. Well… unless he was studying up for his latest Corroded Coffin show or a new campaign. I mean, he’s been studying to try to pass high school again. But let’s be honest, even with his friends’ help, especially Stephanie’s help, he still feels like he’s falling behind. Speaking of her…
That’s the reason why he’s even doing this to begin with.
He’s surprised that the receptionist was so willing to hand everything over (Maybe it was that fact that she looked two seconds away from finishing off a six pack by herself, but who knows). He can thank his artistic eye on being able to forge master his teachers’ signatures. The paperwork for the case file was a lot, I mean, his best friend and the little boy were gone for over a week -- A very long, a very terrible week for most of the town -- so of course the files were thick like a Lord of The Rings novel.
The disappearance of William Byers and Stephanie Henderson on November 6th, 1983.
Zombie Boy and Zombie Girl.
The boy and girl who came back to life.
In a strange way that last line was true. I mean, Stephanie did confess to him by mistake that she had temporarily died, and made him swear not to tell anyone else. And he did. He crossed his heart and never mentioned it to anyone he’s acquainted with. Yet… that made him scared to even open Pandora’s Box. I mean if she died, what else happened in those seven days?
He takes the files in hand, his Van Halen inspired hair pushed back from his face to focus better while he sat at the island. “The car went off the road after 9 o’clock. They ran to Byers’ house and armed themselves with the family’s shotgun. The attacks seemed ineffective, so they ran into the woods. In the initial report, William and Stephanie are thought to have fallen and drowned in Sattler Quarry.”
Eddie frowns heavily ‘cause he remembers that day very clearly.
....
He was about to head to his room to sleep when the news station his Uncle was watching broke into a breaking news story.
< In Other words - breaking news. The bodies of some local children, William Byers and Stephanie Henderson, have been found. >
Eddie stopped his movement, pausing in the doorway of his kitchenette at the names. I mean, this was Hawkins, of course everyone knew the names and faces of these two people the moment they went missing.
< The children have been missing since the 6th, and local authorities and its volunteers worked many hours to bring them home, only for it to end in a tragedy. >
< From the looks of it, the poor children had plummeted into the quarry and ended up drowning with possible hypothermia. But the mystery still remains on why these two disappeared in the first place. Hopefully, the police can find the answer to that, and bring some closure to the grieving families. >
< Hopfullu so, Liz. I can only imagine what they’re going through right now. >
< Everyone here at WCPK would like to give our condolences. And we advise everyone watching to give a moment of silence for the children. >
“Who would even want to hurt kids?” Wayne cuts into his Nephew’s twirling mind. The older man’s eyes didn’t leave the screen as he clenched the bottle in his hand a little tighter. “Poor girl just offered him a ride home and then this happens?” His eyes finally meet Eddie’s. “Did you know her?”
Eddie shakes his head. “Personally? No. But we’ve crossed paths a few times. She was always really sweet and willing to help out with anything if you asked.”
Wayne hums, as he takes a small swig. “Poor kids. Just be careful when you go to school now, you hear?”
....
“Autopsy shows that the bodies were close to decomposer, but key details in their bodies were enough to match them.”
....
“Did you hear? Henderson actually got turned into a freak?”
That was the first thing he heard when he entered school the next day. Of course he did. Everyone was talking about her death, but not all were polite. But why though? Because she didn’t “fit in”? Because she wasn’t a popular girl, or had an IQ like Einstein? It makes him sick.
“I know you don’t have to like everyone, but can you at least be respectful of the dead?” Jeff said, voicing what they all thought as they went from their locker-to-locker to get their things to start the day.
“Couldn’t have said it better myself.” Gareth agrees, Eddie humming as he pulls something from his locker and shuts it. As he turned around he felt himself grow sicker.
“Eddie? What’s wrong?”
The DM moves diagonally across the hallway with his friends in tow. He soon finds himself standing in front of a badly beaten locker, covered in egg and spray paint, and a missing poster vandalized with the word ‘FREAK’ and devil horns in bright red.
“Jesus.” Grant whispers in disbelief (They could all hear other students walking by, some laughing under their breaths). “School just opened. How did it get like this already?”
“Someone must have come in the night.” Jeff said, frowning. “Bastards.” Eddie felt his blood boil as his hands slowly curled into fists. “Eddie?”
He took off again, everyone following as he pulled a bobby pin from his hair. “We’re cleaning this up.” He replies, as they arrive at the locked storage room. “It’s the least we can do for her.”
....
“However, four days afterwards, Police Chief James Hopper found the two of them in the woods near Hawkins’ research lab.”
....
< Breaking news, in a shocking turn of events, local children, William Byers and Stephanie Henderson, have been found alive. >
Eddie froze as he was standing behind the counter. He was currently trying to pay his mechanic what he owed, and the little box TV ended up distracting the both of them.
< Last night, at approximately after midnight, the two children were brought in by paramedics where they received a much needed medical attention. How are they alive after being confirmed dead? Well, that’s the question we’re all waiting for. Stay tuned for– >
“Well I’ll be damned.” The mechanic said, as Eddie continued to just stare at the TV in disbelief. “I wonder how the popo will explain this one.”
....
“The two of them had escaped their kidnapper and were on the brink of death, so much so, CPR was applied to Stephanie before being rushed to the hospital.” Eddie almost shutters as the thought of his friend being brought back to life. “A statement was released two days later, the man, whose name still remains anonymous, was arrested for the kidnapping and violent assault on the children. He was also charged with fraud over the fake bodies–”
He pauses, and rereads the last two sentences again. “A statement was released two days later, the man, whose name still remains anonymous, was arrested for the kidnapping and violent assault on the children. He was also charged with fraud over the fake bodies– What?” Now that was confusing. Was he actually reading that correctly? “The children’s families asked all media to respect their privacy, and all questions or concerns were to be handed over to the Police Chief.”
And then came the eerie silence.
Okay… now that he’s physically reading this, and not hearing it from word to mouth, is starting to weird him out even more than before. Eddie sets the file off to the side, getting a better look at the map of his city he had laid out. He double checks the address of Will’s house before looking around the area.
So, Stephanie’s car hit here… He trails his finger from the crash spot, back to the house, his shed in the back before diagonally crossing the buildings for the large body of water. His eyebrows pinched together. See, that doesn’t make any sense. The Quarry’s the other way. Logically they would be heading the opposite way if they were being chased. Unless they got turned around in the direction, but…
....
“Wait, wait, wait, Henderson. Back up.” Eddie says, trying to wrap his head around again at all this info. “You died?”
The color drains from her face. “Shit. I was supposed to say that.”
“So, it’s true?” He says, panicking in his tone and face. “You actually fucking died? For real? Like, not when they said that you and Byers drowned in the Quarry?”
“Y-Yes. Exactly. For real, and not in the Quarry.”
“W-Wha…”
“I was protecting Will, so…”
....
Then why doesn’t the media know the truth? I mean, how come no one was pushing for more? Especially with so many holes in the story? Did the residents of Hawkins just take the police’s words without any follow up questions?
Were you paid off? But Eddie shakes his head immediately. No. You wouldn’t snoop that low. And not to mention you were just complaining last month that when you were having car trouble, and you were going to have to dip into your savings. So definitely no money. Then why keep quiet?
Why was she keeping quiet? What made her and the Byers keep a tight lip?
....
“You’re going to believe me?” She asks, putting pressure on the first word which confuses him (and tries not to take offense to it).
“Yeah.” He nods slowly. “I don’t see why you think I wouldn’t.”
“So, if I told that me and Will were taken by an eight foot monster with no face, and it dragged us to a world like ours, but with no people; And that we had to fight off bats that also had no face, and had tentacles like an octopus; Or that I got stuck inside my own head and almost died because of a completely separate monster, you would believe me?” Steph spills rapidly and looks his way. “Like… if I just came up to you as a stranger, you would believe me?”
....
She looked scared, she looked confused over his sympathy. But what hurt worst was the small, small glimmer of hope that someone would finally understand what’s going on with her…
....
Gareth makes another face, this time it was something between pity and concern. “What I’m getting to is… what if she was telling you the truth about what she saw? As weird and as made up as that sounds, did any news article ever mention where the kidnapper took her and Will?” His friends all cast glances again, while he continued, “I mean they were gone for seven days in a small town like Hawkins, and you’re telling me that no one saw anyone suspicious, or even a suspicious looking place? Don’t you find that odd?”
....
…And he screwed that up.
....
She smacks her lips and takes another puff. “No therapist can help me with what I saw. If I talk, they might send me to fucking Pennhurst.” She laughs a little louder this time. “I can see the goddamn headline now. ‘Stephanie ‘The Freak’ Henderson, who believes in other worlds, is being sent for serious treatment at Pennhurst Mental Institution’. I’m sure everyone in fucking school would love that.”
....
His coco orbs shift away from the pages to the clock on the microwave. It was almost four in the afternoon, meaning that the school day had ended. He took a moment to gather all his options before pushing himself to a stand and reaching for the phone. He quickly dialed the number, holding it up to his ear as he tapped his feet impatiently.
After about the fifth ring someone picked up and said: ‘Hello’. “Hey, Gareth.” Eddie says, waiting for the surprise reply back. “Yeah, yeah. I know I kind of disappeared, but, uh… I was wondering if you’d be down doing a band sesh at your house later?”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Nancy and Jonathan had laid the bait out, and the lab took it just as they expected. The only small problem was now they’ve been detained by the security. What felt like hours is when Nancy finally had enough sitting around in the interrogation room.
“Hey!” She shouted as she stared at the camera down. “Hey, assholes! Let us out of here!” Not even a few minutes later the door finally opened.
“Oh! Not very pleasant in here, is it?” Dr. Owens said, as he tried to brush it off with a laugh. “Sorry about that. Hospitality’s not our strong suit. You know, scientists and all.” He was met with Nancy’s sharp gaze, making him clear his throat and look at his watch. “Yeah. Okay. You up for a little walk?” And then he takes his leave. “I’m assuming you’re behind me.”
The duo share a look and then quickly follow as he gives them a ‘grand tour’. “‘Men of science have made abundant mistakes of every kind’. George Sarton said that. You guys know who George Sarton is? …Doesn’t really matter. The point is, mistakes have been made. Yes.”
“Mistakes?” Nancy snaps.
“Yes–”
“You killed Barbara.”
“Abundant mistakes, but, the men involved with those mistakes, the ones responsible for what happened to your brother, and Miss Henderson, and Miss Holland’s death, they’re gone–” Owens continues, as Jonathan and Nancy spare glances to the scientists behind glass rooms in full hazmat suits. “-They’re gone, and for better for worse, I’m the schmuck they brought in to make things better.” He brings them through a secure door. “But I can’t make things better without your help.”
“You mean without us shutting up?” Nancy asks, as he chuckles nervously again.
“She’s tough, this one.” He says, eyes on Jonathan. “You guys been together long?”
“We’re not together–” Jonathan begins, but the Doctor continues to ramble.
“Wanna see what really killed your friend?” They go through another secure door, this time it leads to a control room. “Teddy, I brought you an audience today. I hope you don’t mind.”
“More the merrier, sir.” The leader said with a smile.
“I’d call it one hell of a mistake. Wouldn’t you?” Owens said, pointing at what’s on the other side of the glass -- The gate that the local Police Chief made sure was burned and to stay paralyzed. “See, the thing is, we can’t seem to erase our mistake… but we can stop it from spreading. Like, it’s like pulling weeds. But imagine for a moment if a foreign state, let’s say, the Soviets... If they heard about our mistake… do you think they would even consider that a mistake? What if they tried to replicate that?”
On cue someone in a fireproof suit entered the containment, a wand in his hands. “The more attention we bring to ourselves, the more… the more people like the Hollands know the truth, the more likely that scenario becomes. You see why I have to stop the truth from spreading, too. Just, same as those weeds there. By whatever means necessary.”
Red hot flames shot out and began the burning process. Jonathan and Nancy watched with emotionless faces, as Owens asked them the million dollar threat of, “So, we understand each other now, don’t we?”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
After cleaning up the mess from the stove top and counter, Stephanie placed the burnt pot into the sink and continued to scrub it clean. About a quarter of a way through, red droplets fell into the water. She groans, flicking the water off for a second to reach for a paper towel for her nose.
Why does this shit keep bleeding? She groaned again when the phone started to ring, and was debating if she should just call her mom to take the call. But she hears the adult talking under her breath as she moves across the house. I forgot she’s looking for Mews.
Steph grabs the phone and puts it up to her ear. “Henderson residence.”
[ ‘You sound like a grumpy receptionist when you say it like that.’ ]
She chuckled. “Well, how can I assist you on this fine day, Mr. Edward Munson?”
[ ‘Ugh, that makes me feel old.’ ]
She rolls her eyes. “You’re like a year and a half older than me. Shut up.” She pokes, making him snort.
[ ‘So, how are you feeling?’ ]
“Tired. Really tired. But I can’t seem to go back to sleep.” She replies, hearing him hum at her answer. “What about you? Grant said you didn’t go to school.”
[ ‘Grant called you?’ ]
“Yeah. He was wondering if maybe you were with me. The guys were worried since, you know, you’re trying to graduate.”
[ ‘Understandable.’ ]
“Eddie?” He hums again. “Did I…” Her brows pushed together in concern. “I know I probably really worried you yesterday, and I’m sorry that I did, but, um, I guess I was just wondering if you skipped school because of–”
“Stephanie, honey, can you help move something real quick?” Her mom’s voice cuts in, making her sigh.
Steph pulls the phone away to reply, “Yeah. Give me a second.”
[ ‘Problem?’ ]
“Maybe. I don’t know. Our cat kind of went MIA. Which is weird, because I saw her this morning. My mom’s freaking out a bit. You know how much she loves Mews.”
[ ‘That is true. She does love that cat.’ ]
“That’s an understatement. I swear, she loves that cat more than Dusty and I sometimes.” She mutters, and gets another laugh out of him.
[ ‘Hey, are you going to school tomorrow?’ ]
“Yeah. I need to. Need to keep my grades up if I want to graduate myself.”
[ ‘Need a ride? Or…’ ]
“No, my mom wants to take me. That way, I can also pick up my car from school. But, after that we can reschedule you taking me again… if you want to?”
[ ‘Steph, I’m always down to drive you. You never have to ask.’ ]
“Thanks, Eddie.” She says, smiling. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
[ ‘See you tomorrow.’ ]
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Joyce came back from her son’s room with another stack of drawings. “This is more of the same.” She says, sitting down on the couch with Hopper who was almost getting annoyed by the pictures.
“It’s nothing. It’s just scribbles.” He says, flipping through the new stack. I mean, what is missing here? What is not seeing? What are you trying to tell us?
Almost like Joyce could read his thoughts, as she was watching him repeat the activity over-and-over again, she saw something that made everything click in place. “Wait!” Her eyes widened, as he stared at her.
“What? What?”
“Wait. Wait. Wait.” She shifts a few papers in his hands, trying to line them up. “These black lines, see?”
“What?”
“Look, they connect. They connect.”
And that’s when the two of them begin to scramble to figure out what goes where. It felt like hours of going back and forth to Will’s room, retrieving the drawings and laying them across the living room floor until it made some kind of sense. Eventually, the adults stood up straight, taking a few steps back to look at the art piece. An art piece of what exactly? Well that was the tricky part.
“Does this mean anything to you?” Hopper asks, completely lost.
“No.” Joyce says, shaking her head. “I mean, is it some sort of maze or a road? I-I mean, it’s sort of forking and branching like... like lightning.”
“You think it’s that storm?”
“No, the storm he drew was completely different. He used red. And this is all blue and it has some weird dirt color.” She makes a face. “I mean, maybe it’s roots. ‘Cause remember, he was saying it was spreading and–”
“Killing. He said they were killing.” He whispers at a realization. Now everything that’s been happening the last few days has finally made sense, and it was making his skin crawl. “Vines.”
“Hopper?” Joyce says, watching him grab his coat and hat as he flings the front door open.
“He’s drawing vines.” Was the last thing he said as he rushed out of the house.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
“Hey, Max.” Lucas says, the bell ringing that signals the school day is over. “Have you seen Dustin? We’re supposed to meet after class.” The redhead sends him a look, silently walking past him as he follows in confusion. “Max! Hey, Max! Hey, where are you going?” He trails down the stairs and into the parking lot. “Come on! We’ve gotta go look for Dart.”
Max scoffs. “Yeah, good luck with that.”
He blinks. “What is wrong with you?”
“What is wrong with me?” She finally stops, and looks at him. “What’s wrong with you?”
“I don’t understand–”
“No! I don’t understand! You guys act like you want me to be your friend but then you treat me like garbage!”
“That’s not true!”
“Yes, it is! You go and hide in the AV Club, keeping secrets like we’re in second grade or something.” She says, looking quite hurt. “You know, I thought you guys wanted me in your party.”
“We do.” Lucas said, truthfully (At least him and Dustin do). “But it’s…”
She raises an eyebrow. “But what?”
He sighs, saddened. “There... there are just things. Things we can’t tell you, alright? For your own safety.”
Max rolls her eyes. “My own safety?”
“Yes!”
“Because I’m a girl?”
“What? No!”
“Did you keep secrets from El?”
He freezes. “How do you know about El?” He asks. Seriously, where did she hear that name from?
“Did you?” She pushes, which makes him crack.
“That was different. Trust me. Okay? That was just... just different.”
Max shakes her head after waiting to see if he would change his mind. “Okay. You know what? Forget it, okay? I don’t wanna be in your stupid party anyway. I’m out.” She turns on her heels and storms off. “Have a nice life.”
“Max!”
“You still stink, by the way!”
Lucas froze again before taking a whiff of himself. He nearly gags in disgust and frustration. “Oh, shit!”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
Mike’s fists pounded on the door again. “Hello? Will! Mrs. Byers?” He knows they have to be home and not at the hospital. He sees their car and bike right on the lawn! So why aren’t they answering? “Hello?” He raises his fist again just as the door opens slowly.
“Hey, Mike.” Joyce says, softly.
“Is Will here?”
“You know what? Now is not a really good time.”
“Is he okay?”
“Yeah, uh.” She takes a step outside, a way of silently telling the boy to go home. “You know, he’s... he’s just not feeling real well.” A hand reaches up to his shoulder, and carefully guides him off the porch. “He’s laying down, so I’ll tell him you stopped by, okay?”
Mike at this point decides to throw all caution to the wind; Because clearly Joyce knows what he knows and is not telling. “It’s about the shadow monster, isn’t it?” He asks, just as she was about to reenter the house. “I just want to talk to him real quick. Because…” Should he sugarcoat it? “I think he’s in danger. And not just him. I think him and Stephanie are. Big time.”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
After being escorted from the lab, and triple checking they weren’t followed while they were driving, Nancy pulls out a tape recorder from her purse, the crucial piece of evidence that she and Jonathan needed. She hits the button–
[ ‘Doesn’t really matter. The point is, mistakes have been made. Yes.’ ]
[ ‘Mistakes?’ ]
She forwards the tape for a few seconds then plays–
[ ‘The men involved with those mistakes, the ones responsible for what happened to your brother, Miss Henderson, and Miss Holland’s death, they’re gone.’ ]
She presses rewind, and then plays it again–
[ ‘--The ones responsible for what happened to your brother, Miss Henderson, and Miss Holland’s death, they’re gone.’ ]
She pauses it, still coming into terms that Owens admitted it so nonchalantly.
Jonathan looks over at her wary and asks, “You still wanna do this?”
With a new look of determination, and hatred for the people flaunting in white coats, she replies, “Let’s burn that lab to the ground.”
Jonathan says nothing else, just nodding along as he continues driving the car straight out of Hawkins.
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
“Band practice?” Gareth blurts out as he paces a bit around in his garage. After Eddie had made him call everyone else, they all arrived before him, all very confused on how nonchalant he was being about skipping school. “I mean… yeah, we haven’t had one in a hot minute, but why now? It doesn’t make any goddamn sense!”
Jeff sighs loudly. “I told you this shit is getting weirder.”
“Maybe this is his way of coping about yesterday.” Grant replies, as his friend sends him a look.
“Always gotta look in a different light, do you?” Gareth jabs.
Grant looks offended. “Hey, someone has to.”
On cue, the Dungeon Master’s van appeared at the end of the driveway. Eddie had stormed out of his van, face full of determination, and a handful of files and books that didn’t belong in a band sesh or a D&D rehearsal.
“Where have you been?” Gareth asks, as the brunette brushes past them for the door. “And where’s your guitar?”
“And why the sudden urge to do band practice?” Grant asks, after getting no reply as they follow him inside. “You trying to take your mind off everything, or what?”
“Quite the opposite, actually.” Eddie finally spoke, plopping his belongings down on the kitchen counter and opening the fridge for a can of Coke. He takes a few sips, loud enough to get them to stop bombarding him with questions… and was enough of a distraction for him to find who he was looking for.
“Oh, hey–” He wiped his mouth clean, setting the can down as he swiped his notebook off the counter, and strolled over to an older man passing by. “Mr. Brookes! You’re a doctor, right?” He asks with a very charming smile and tone.
“I am.” The adult says, as he clenches his coffee mug like a lifeline.
“Well, I was wondering if you could help me with something real quick. You see… I was trying to work on a new logo for our band–” Eddie misses the way his friends glanced at one another with uncertainty. “And, I wanted to add a cool battle scar for the person on our cover. So, I was wondering, in your opinion, would be the coolest?”
The Munson shows off a page from his sketch book, a whole page filled with very detailed and well executed lines that were different types of scars. The older man leaned down a bit, adjusting his glasses as he carefully looked at all of them.
“Well, what kind of injury are you looking for?”
Eddie decides to play coy a bit. “Mmmm, not sure. Maybe one inflicted by a knife, or got attacked by an animal…”
Mr. Brookes thought about that for a second, before pointing. “Well, the first one, in my experience, looks like some kind of blade wound; Probably like a knife.” He points to another. “This one looks closest to an animal attack. Or, at least it looks like it got the wound from something sharp or jagged, like some kind of strong teeth.”
Eddie hums again, flipping the page around and nodding. “Okay. I think I have something to work with now.” He flashes another smile. “Thank you, Mr. Brookes.”
“My pleasure, Ed. You boys have fun. There’s leftovers in the fridge if you get hungry.” The older man left for his room, moments passing by before Jeff broke the silence first.
“Dude, what the fuck was that about?”
“Investigating.” Eddie said, confidently as he grabs his things again and heads back inside the garage.
“For what?” Gareth asks, as his blue orbs watches his friend close the garage door manually. “Eddie?” Then he sees him pulling over one of their fold out tables. “Eddie?”
The brunette places the table down in front of them with a serious expression. “This.” Eddie plops down all the files he brought -- The Hellfire Club swarming in close. “This is all the public records about Stephanie’s, and Will’s, kidnapping.” He then pulls out a photo of all of them together. “This is a photo we all took of Hellfire before the previous school year ended. Or, I have this one of me and her*.” He puts down that picture and then his sketchbook. “And then my sketches.”
Jeff sends him another look. “Okay, explain, because I’m a little lost.”
“Well, prepare yourself, Gents, because it’s a lot.” Eddie replies, making sure he has their undivided attention before starting. “In the records, and even her mom confirmed this with me yesterday, says that Stephanie had a lot of injuries. It doesn’t go into a lot of details because it’s not a hospital file, but even the Chief of Police put in his notes that she was pretty banged up.” He pulls out the particular piece of paper and shows it off.
He waits for them to quickly skim over it before continuing, “Now, shortly after she was released, the Chief met up with her for a final interview. And since this was a pretty big story for our small town, of course reporters got wind of it. So…” He pulls out a picture from the file. It shows Hopper escorting the Henderson family to their car. “In his notes, the Chief said that one reporter managed to take a polaroid of her, but confiscated it claiming it was an unreasonable thing to do since this event was so traumatizing. And, look–” His finger points directly at her. “It’s a little hard to see, but look at the bandages.”
The boys all leaned in close, squinting to see the details just under his nail.
Gareth’s eyes go big for a second. “She has them on her neck.”
“Exactly.” Eddie says, with a nod. “Now, her mom also told me that Stephanie was someone who never really ‘overdressed’. I mean, she likes baggy clothes, and denim and leather like we do, but never too crazy. And she’s right. The few times I’ve been over to her house, from old photos I see, she doesn’t dress the same anymore. I mean, noticed all the turtle necks she wears? Or, when it’s D&D night she wears a scarf with her Hellfire shirt?”
“And a jacket, ‘cause our shirts are half-sleeves.” Grant says, as he catches on.
“Exactly!”
“So, that’s why you wanted to come over? To pick my dad’s brain?” Gareth asks, getting a nod. “Then why not just show him a picture of Stephanie instead of a drawing?”
“I didn’t want to be too obvious, or weird. I mean, he knows her just like the rest of us. And I wanted to see if my hutch was worth moving forward with.”
“And your hutch is?” Jeff pushes.
Eddie places his drawing and the photos next to each other. “This.” He gestures to the picture that he and Steph took together. “I’ve seen the scars on her hands. We all have. And if Gareth’s dad is correct about the origin of the scars, these weren’t made by a blade, or a kitchen knife, or even if you accidently cut across a sharp surface. No. These were made by something with teeth. Maybe a human with freakishly sharp teeth, or an animal, or…”
It took a minute, but Grant figured it out. “They were made by the monsters she was talking about.”
“Bingo.”
“Oh, Jesus.” Jeff takes a few steps back, holding the sides of his head. “This is… this is insane.”
“I know.”
“Like, actual fucking monsters… in Hawkins?”
“I know, Bowers.”
“Monsters, Eddie!”
“I know!” Eddie says, loudly as he comes to halt Jeff by his shoulders -- calming him. “I know. And… and maybe I’m looking too deep into this, but…” He looks at his buddies again with worried eyes. “Something happened in that field yesterday. We all know she’s not anemic, we know she’s been tested for things before; We know she’s definitely not Pennhurst crazy; I mean, we know who she is! However, something happened in those seven days that even the media doesn’t know about. Why? I don’t know, and maybe the truth is as crazy as she suggested. But we have to do something because I can’t witness another moment like what happened with her in the field. I can’t. And I’m sure you guys don’t want to witness that again either.”
It was bad enough when he found his mom in the state she was before she passed, and that’s all Eddie could see when he was at the field yesterday. He’s already lost one family member, he ain’t gonna lose another. And that’s what was going through the rest of the club members’ heads.
Grant decides to ask the number one question on all their minds, “So, what do you want to do?”
•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
“Hey, Dusty.” Stephanie says, as soon her brother gets through the door. “Hey, I know you just got home, but Mom’s looking for Mews. Did you see anything orange on your way home?”
He shakes his head, his mind clearly elsewhere. “No. No I did not.”
She raises an eyebrow, stopping him by the shoulder when he sluggishly walks past her. “Hey. What’s wrong?”
He frowns. “It’s Dart. The guys think he’s still missing and want to interrogate him because they think it might have something to do with Will’s episodes.”
And possibly yours. But he didn’t want to freak her (or himself) out just yet.
“Your… ugly lizard has something to do with Will’s episodes?”
“Yeah, I know. Sounds stupid. And I don’t know what they’re going to do if they get their.” He says, walking towards his room with his sister in tow. “It’s not like Dart can speak. And he’s not ugly."
She holds her hands up in defense. “Okay, whatever you say. But, if Dart did have something to do with the episodes, shouldn’t I have recognized him? I mean, me and Will were in the same boat at one point.”
“Exactly! I don’t think they get it.” He groans with frustration. “They exhaust me sometimes.” They enter his room, door closing and locking. He then throws off his hat and his bag onto his bed, beelining for his planetarium. “Dart, I’ve gotta talk to you, buddy. It’s about my friend, Will. I think–”
As the sheet came off he froze. The front of the glass had been completely shattered, followed by a weird colored ooze dripping off the edges.
“Where the fuck’s the lizard?” Stephanie finally said after a moment of silently observing the damage.
Dustin carefully pulls something up that was laying by his feet, something that looks like snake skin. He makes a face. “What the hell…”
The two siblings nearly jumped out of their own skin when something in the room growled.
“D-Dart…?” He croaked, as he took a step forward. His sister’s arm comes in front of him, a tall tale sign that she was going to go look first. She does, and he slowly trails behind her. As they moved along that’s when they noticed the trail of crimson on the rugs, running up and over the chair in the corner of his room. Swallowing, the duo peeked their heads over, their faces paling at the sight.
“Mews?” She whispers, staring down at their family cat who was currently being feasted on by none other than the lizard he found on Halloween night.
“Holy shit.” Dustin said, his pet turning around while wagging its tail, clearly happy to see he’s home.
But then, Dart’s face opens up for a shriek…
.
.
.
And so do the Hendersons.
(TBC)
A/N: Here's a drawing I did for my new favorite duo 😄
SHIT JUST GOT REAL REALLLLLL QUICK!!! Seeing Vecna, him having a greater purpose for Steph, I'm LOVING HELLFIRE'S INVOLVMENT FOR ONE OF THEIR OWN WHO NEEDS HELP!! Worth the wait esp. since after doing the rewatch of ST, I had forgotten just how MUCH Will suffered in s.2 and what he went through and was wondering if Steph was gonna deal with the same thing or something even worse since she's actually seeing Vecna compared to Will atp. GREAT JOB BESTIE CAN'T WAIT FOR MORE!!!
Pairings : Oda Sakunosuke × CurryShopOwner! Daughter
It was the beginning of afternoon, the red haired man walked into the establishment with vigor, in his favorite place. Freedom Restaurant didn't have less or more commotion than normally, just as lively and welcome as usual.
Oda stopped and let his brown eyes travel around the room. Where he thought he would find the middle age man by the kitchen, He finds a young woman, probably his age, preparing some curry for future customers.
He found it odd, and once again move his feet to the counter, before adressing this woman.
Oda stood next to the counter and asked to this girl, "Who may you be ?"
The woman turned her head his way, and her face scrunched in delight. Right when he wanted to talk, She started to and said, « So you must be the man my dad talked about ! Welcome Oda ! I'm the 'chief's' daughter !»
The man addressed was slightly shocked, quickly regained his composure, having resolved the mystery of who is that being, he sees no point in wasting time with that, and made his way to the stairs.
«The Kids already eaten some real good curry a few minutes ago ! » said the smiling woman.
He nodded and went up the stairs, quickly going up and to the room.
Oda view what would happen in some seconds, Children jumping at him, is what he saw.
He opened the door and that was exactly what happened. The kids jumped at him and Oda quickly put them down to the floor and tied them like any other days.
Although that was not the case of the person downstairs, she ran up the stairs and saw the 5 kids tied up.
As practically anyone would have reacted, she immediately assumed that it was something bad and...panicked.
Although, thanks to his ability and mere knowledge of human emotions, Oda quickly explained to the lady in here, "Don’t you worry about that, Me and those children usually do that, I guess your dad hasn't told you that."
The woman calmed down and nodded, «Oh well I guess it's logical ! Okay my bad ! I'll return downstairs !» and she went there.
Oda continued playing with Kosuke,Shinji,Yu,Katsumi and little Sakura. They had tons of fun, super funny as Kosuke would say, but he still had in mind that sweet and caring lady of Freedom Restaurant in the back of his mind and the wonderful curry scent too. His favorite.
A/N: Okay that's all :P That's my first every fanfic written 🥹 I wanted to try and create the content I waited for quite some times 💔💔 Hope you enjoyed it ! And if you like how my beginner ass write, Feel Free to request BSD characters !! Even LN ones ! OR ANOTHER PART OF THIS....
Also !! I'M NO ENGLISH NATIVE SPEAKER SOO THE ENGLISH CAN BE SEEN AS BAD SORRY
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Best of friends, best of soulmates; Satoru Gojo x reader
*Author's note*
After seeing some good feedback and likes/reblogs on my Nanami fanfic I thought it might be time to do the most SIMPed anime character in history (dear god at first I didn't understand cause I had NEVER heard of a character in anime be SIMP'ed as much as him but having seen the series twice I GET IT). But BE WARNED!!! This fic ISN'T for the faint of heart so if any of these warnings is triggering or if you don't believe in them DON'T THROW YOUR POLITICAL BS AT ME WOMEN'S BODIES AREN'T YOURS TO GOVERN!!!!!!
Relationships: (Past mention) Suguru Geto x reader, (PLATONIC) Satoru Gojo x reader
WARNINGS: Abortion, pregnancies, angst, death, some fluff.
It all seems like a bad dream. A bad dream that I cannot wake up from. I refused to believe that Suguru could do something like this. I knew he hadn’t been the same since we lost Riko but I—how could someone like him fall so far so fast?
He tried to get me to see it too since Riko and I had quickly became such good friends in such the short amount of time we had escorting her but I couldn’t see his vision. It’s the duty of the Jujutsu Sorcerers to exorcise curses so humanity can be safe. Now I’m not naïve to say there aren’t evil humans in this world, but there is still good in the world and that is what’s worth fighting for.
I sat in the girls dormitory bathrooms trying to control my breathing as I sat and waited anxiously for the results. God why does 5 minutes feel like an eternity when it usually goes by so fast? I heard the door open and close and panicked for a brief second but soon relaxed once I saw it was just Shoko.
“Anything yet?”
“It’s still got a minute.” I sighed heavily and buried my face into my hands. “What am I gonna do Ieiri?” I heard her come up to me and felt her take my wrists in her hands. I looked up at her with teary eyes and she told me.
“It’s your choice. I know you had planned to tell him before he well……” my timer soon let out a ding telling me time was now up. We turned to look at it before looking back at each other.
“I can’t. Please look for me.” I turned away from her holding my stomach anxiously rubbing it. She went over to it and picked it up. I turned back to look at her and she gave me a nod. Tears slipped down my face as a choked sob came out pass my lips.
“Before you even suggest taking another test there’s no point. I’m sensing a different CE mixed in with yours. How far do you think you are? Do you know?”
“I’m nearly 8 weeks late of my last period. There’s no denying it now, I’m carrying Geto Suguru’s child. My unborn child’s father is now the most dangerous curse user in all of Japan. How can I raise him to look at his father that way? What if Geto finds out and tries to take him? Twist an innocent child to his dark path? I can’t do this Shoko I can’t do this!”
I felt Shoko wrap her arms around me as I wept into her shoulder gripping her arms tightly.
“Why this way? Why can’t things be the way they were before? At least then I wouldn’t have been so afraid.”
“You still got me, and Mei-Mei, Gojo, Nanami, even Urahime even if she won’t admit it.” That got a smile out of me. “You can stay with me in my dorm for a few nights to think it over. You don’t have to go through this alone. Does Gojo know?”
“With his 6th eyes I’m sure he knows in some degree. But he’s been broken-hearted if not worse than I was since finding out what he did. I can’t believe he also kill his parents, they were all so welcoming to me. I just know his parents would’ve been thrilled to one day become grandparents.”
“We can’t change what’s happened I’m afraid. All we can do know is….try to move on and forge our way from here.” I felt her kiss my temple as we sat there in the bathroom for a while in silence.
I thought long and hard about this for three days straight. Not really leaving Shoko’s dorm and staying isolated from everyone else until I finally made my decision. However Shoko refused to do the deed herself being a healing sorcerer and her technique all about saving lives and not taking them, so she helped me research some well-approved clinics that could help me out.
I couldn’t rope Nanami into this, he didn’t deserve it even though we did talk to each other. So my last option was Satoru. I walked towards the gym where I saw him tossing a basketball straight into the hoop from the opposite side of the court.
It’s funny how a year ago the four of us would come spend our time here after a mission just to relax and goof off. Satoru always showing off his skills making a basket everytime while Suguru would miss every now and then. At times he’d even joke with Geto that the one who gets the most baskets would get to kiss me (that really got Geto all riled up and sexy).
Each basket Gojo made, the sound of the ball hitting the hoop sounded more like a body being slammed against the wall as his anger was starting to boil over. Until finally one shot had the glass around the basket shatter as it missed the hoop completely. I flinched as I slowly came inside the gym, Satoru’s heavy panting the only thing echoing through the empty gym.
“Satoru-kun.” I softly called out. His body tensed as his breathing suddenly stopped. “I need to talk to you about something.”
“You need to talk to me, huh?” he repeated softly in a low tone. He turned towards me, his eyes narrowed and blue eyes that once looked at me with warmth and admiration now sent a cold chill down my body. “You don’t show yourself for three days, and now all of a sudden you want to talk?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I snapped.
“Don’t bullshit me (Y/n)!” he snarled back. “I’ve always been there for you whenever you needed me. I respect you because next to me, you are one of the strongest Jujutsu sorcerers I’ve met. But when I needed you, you disappeared. And now three days after he left you demand something out of me like what we’ve found out doesn’t matter to you!”
“Don’t act so high and mighty Gojo! You’re not the only one who loved him.”
“Then where the hell were you!?” he got in my face.
“I had my own problems to think about.”
“Like what?! What was so important that you shut yourself out and have no one see you at all!?”
“I’ve decided to get an abortion!” I screamed at him as my voice cracked with emotion. Satoru’s anger immediately washed away as he stood there in shock, still as a statue.
“You—you’re……”
“Yes Gojo. And it’s his child. But I—I can’t have this child be shunned and shamed for who their father is, nor will I live in fear every day of them being taken away from me. To be turned into a weapon by their father! I—I can’t do that to such an innocent soul. Call me a monster if you will for taking a life before it even begins, but I’d rather let this child die than be born into a world that will destroy them either way.”
I let out a heavy sigh as I wrapped my arms around my lower abdomen feeling the curse energy of my baby growing inside me.
“Forget it. I shouldn’t have come to talk to you about this.” I turned to walk away but I soon felt his hand grip my arm. It didn’t hurt but I felt the firm grip in his hand as it held my arm. His glasses sat along the edge of his nose, allowing me to see those entrancing blue eyes of his fully.
“Do—do you have someone to go with you?” I shook my head no. His hand ever so gently slid down my arm until it came into my hand. He intertwined our fingers together as he gently gave my hand a comforting squeeze. “You do now. No ifs, ands or buts. I’m coming with you.”
I released a breath I didn’t know I had left but it soon morphed into a sob as he wrapped his arms around me. I gripped the back of his uniform as I wept into his chest.
“Thank you Toru, thank you. I-I’m sorry.”
“No. Don’t you dare apologize. I’m the one who should be sorry. Now don’t speak anymore, just cry it out. I’ve got you now.” He whispered as I felt him stroke down my hair and rub my back as I continued to cry into his chest.
Ichiji drove us downtown without any questions asked as we now sat at the clinic.
“Are you sure you still want to do this?” he asked me. I nodded.
“Like I said, had things been different I would’ve kept them. But—he’s too dangerous to be involved. And I couldn’t bear to lie to my child about who their father truly is, especially when I—I still love him. Deep down I really do still love him, which is why this hurts me so much.” Satoru rubbed my back comfortingly.
“I’ll be here for you. No matter what, even years down the line, I’ll still have your back. He won’t get to you. But are you sure this is the best clinic to do it?”
“Shoko and I both did our research. I did at first ask her to do it but she said she isn’t about taking a life. Even if I gave her consent to do it.”
“Just want to be sure you’re taken care of.”
“And that’s one of the things I love about you Toru. Your protectiveness. While it can be a bit much, and don’t give me that look you know you can be.” He gawked at first before pouting. I then brushed some of the strands of white hair away from his glasses, “It shows just how much of a big heart you have to those you truly let in. And what you’re willing to do for those you call your friends.” He smiled and teased me.
“Only you could call out the strongest sorcerer and make him soft by saying things like that.” We both softly scoffed lightly. The door opened and a nurse came out and called my name.
I turned to Satoru and he gave my hand another comforting squeeze as I took a deep breath, stood up, and walked towards the nurse my hand slowly separating from his. I turned to look at him one last time and he gave me a supportive smile and nod before I followed the nurse to the back room.
I entered a white room and was told to change into the robes and sit on the taped covered table. I sat there for a while by myself before the door opened up again and a doctor came in and greeted me.
“Miss (L/n)?” I stood up and gave him a respected bow. “Sit, sit you don’t need to have any introduction, I know all about you from my niece, Ieiri.”
“You’re Ieiri-chan’s uncle?”
“Hai-hai. Most jujutsu sorcerers wouldn’t think getting a normal job is the best way to go about life. But every now and then I see it as better way to enhance the protection between both our worlds. Now, my niece tells me that you are here for an abortion, correct?”
“Yes sir. Can—can I ask how I’ll feel afterward? Physically and emotionally?”
“Well to be honest Miss (L/n) it varies between woman to woman. Some women feel utter relief, others feel a sense of loss.”
“And I’ll still be able to have kids when I’m older and ready?”
“Yes. This is not a permanent thing. Especially once I use my own Curse technique to help ease your body after the procedure.” He assured me.
“Last question. Am I the first woman you’ve ever done this to?”
“You’re not the first today.” He assured me with a smile. “You ready?” I took a deep breath in before shakily exhaling out and told him.
“I’m ready.”
“Alright, lay back and just relax. I’m going to give you a bit of anesthesia to sleep for a bit while I perform the procedure.” I did as he asked and he placed the mask over my face and I could feel the gas coming over me. I breathed in and out as he kept talking to me, “That young man that came with you. Is he the father?”
“No. He’s……he’s my best friend, my soulmate some would say.”
“It’s always good to have such a friend who becomes the other half of who you are. I had the exact same thing when I met my friend back at Jujutsu High. When I lost him just short of our graduation, it broke me. But he made me promise him that I would continue to help those who are hurting. No matter what.”
“I’m sorry you lost such a….good…..friend.”
“Just relax now Miss (L/n). It’ll be over before you know it.” My vision went blurry as I finally shut my eyes.
When I awoke, I was on a bed in another room with Satoru sitting at my side holding my hand between both of his.
“Hey there sleepy head. You okay?” he softly cooed.
“Mmm, I feel funny. And sleepy.” I grumbled as I felt him stroke my hair out of my face.
“The anesthesia starting to wear off.” He told me. The sound of the curtain opened and Shoko’s uncle came back in and handed Satoru some pills for me to take for any intense pain. The two of them talked back and forth while my vision kept going hazy from the sleepiness I was feeling.
After about an hour and getting the all clear to leave, Gojo carried me outside in his arms back to the car and we drove back to Jujutsu High where he took me into his room and tucked me into his bed. He tended to my every need and even shared with me some of his Kikufuku and any other sweets he had stashed away.
As we continued our movie marathon, I leaned my head against Satoru’s chest listening to his heartbeat while I felt his hand soothingly rub my back in comforting circles.
“How are you feeling, really?” he asked me softly. I let out a heavy sigh and said.
“Dr. Shoko said that the emotional aftermath would vary between women. While I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders, I can’t help but also feel guilty. The only time I felt like he was ever truly happy was when it was just the two of us. And that night……the night I feel like when it might’ve happened, it was like having the old Suguru back. The man I thought I had lost a year ago. Now—now I’ve killed the last good thing about him.” I felt tears stinging behind my lashes.
Satoru brought me closer to him. His head resting on top of mine as I felt his hand gently pet my hair.
“I won’t tell you that you made the biggest mistake in your life. It’s your body and you had the right to do what you wanted to do with it. But I can say with 100% guarantee that you are right about what would’ve happened had you decided to keep the baby. You know how those cowards are, those damned Higher Ups. Hell it wouldn’t surprise me if they tried to kill you before the baby was even born. And I—I can’t bear to lose another friend.”
“Satoru.” I tried to look up at him but he kept my head down so that I couldn’t look at him. But I felt his body trembling and I felt a couple of wet drops at the crown of my head.
“I can’t……I can’t…..” I hugged him back just as tightly as he was embracing me. Burying my face into his chest as I kissed my palm before placing it over his heart.
“I’m not going anywhere Toru. I’m right here, afraid you’re stuck with me. Just like I’m stuck with you.” I heard him let out a choked out chuckle.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“For now it’s not. I really needed my soulmate today. Thank you, Satoru. Thank you.” I felt him kiss my temple as he wrapped his arms further around me.
“I’m always here for you. No matter what.”
Soulmates don’t always have to mean in the romantic sense. The bond between Satoru Gojo and myself is proof of that. We have a genuine respect and love for each other. He needed someone to keep him grounded and humble while I needed support and a bit of chaos in my life after being told I needed to be perfect my whole entire life back home before becoming a Jujutsu sorcerer.
We balance each other out and when one of us needs help, the other is there to pick them right back up and be there in whatever way was needed. And I’ll always be grateful to Satoru Gojo for that, not because he’s the Strongest Jujitsu Sorcerer, but because he’s Satoru Gojo, my best friend, my soulmate.
Someone help me I can't STOP but I have NO REGRETS. I've gotten back onto my anime phase and the one anime to get me back on board with it is none other than Jujutsu Kaisen. I FINALLY get the hype of it now and I can NOT WAIT for season 3 to drop! And as a special gift for my readers and anime readers out there, here is a little fic with prob my fav character NANAMI KENTO!! This is also coming from my new love for KPOP DEMON hunters so if you're interested please find the songs that fit with this fic which is the OPENING SCORE (with vocals) and HOW IT'S DONE (with some MINOR lyric changes to fit the story better). Hope you all enjoy it my lovelies :)
Deep underground in the sewers of Tokyo, Nanami Kento and Takuma Ino were battling against a powerful curse user who had taken some hostages in an abandoned condo building. At first the two of them thought they had the curse user beaten but then his cursed energy spiked up to a level that was almost equivalent to a special grade curse.
With his technique of cloning and curse technique mirror reversal, he was able to turn even Nanami’s and Ino’s strongest attacks right back at them tenfold. Ino coughed up a bit of blood while Nanami pressed his hand against his bleeding side as he tried to get back onto his feet.
“Ha! You jujutsu sorcerers are all such fools.” He then summoned more Shikigami clones of themselves Ino with his ski-mask down and Nanami clutching his cleaver knife. The real Nanami grunted as the pain in his side increased with each movement. “Now die!”
Suddenly echoing through the walls of the sewers a siren-like vocalization could be heard. Nanami turned towards the only entry way both he and Ino came through but couldn’t see anyone through the darkness. A flash of blue transparent magic shot out and surrounded both him and Ino in a protective barrier. The lines within their barrier looked like music bars and his heart stopped as he knew this technique all too well.
Soon the vocalization turned into a melodic belt as the power of the woman’s voice sent the shikigamis flying backwards before turning into smoke once again. Even the curse user lost his footing to the power of the song. The song also began to heal Ino and Nanami of their wounds as they felt a warmth surround them and their strength was slowly coming back. Ino regained consciousness while Nanami heard the sound of footsteps coming closer to them.
Hollo eodumeul balkhiryeo
Uri norae bureurira
Gutgeonhan i soriro
i sesangeul gochirira
Stepping out from the shadows was a woman dressed in a bright green kimono, dark green hakama, a sash that tied around her middle, and traditional Japanese vambraces around her arms. Over her kimono was a protective piece of armor and at it’s center was the mark of the Inumaki clan of snake eyes and fangs.
In her hands she held two war hands of bronze and gold and her face was completely covered in makeup. Mostly painted white but around her eyes in an elegant fashion just above her eyes was blood red and at the end of it just above her brows was black. She smirked at the curse user while he got back onto his feet.
“What’s this? Halloween’s not for another few months miss. But if you insist on getting in my way, I don’t see any problems taking you out first before I finish off those two later.” The curse user summoned out more Shikigami versions of Nanami and Ino.
The woman let out a frustrated sigh as she cracked her knuckles as the sewers suddenly began to shimmer with the same magical aura that now protected the real Ino and Nanami. The curse user and his shikigamis all looked up confused as the woman then began to speak.
Ugh, you came at a bad time
But you just crossed the line
You wanna get wild?
Okay, I'll show you wild
With a flash of speed and a rap unlike the curse user had ever heard before, the woman summoned out two clones of her own and the one to her left ran straight at the Ino clone, wrapping her legs around his neck and flipping him off his feet pulling his arm behind his head painfully. The other clone went straight for Nanami and just proceeded to beat his face in with her bare fists.
As a Nanami clone came at her, she kneed it in the gut before flipping upside down to kick its chin before unveiling one of her fans to block an attack from another Nanami clone as an Ino clone now took it’s place before the Nanami clone she had defeated. After a few kicks to the second Nanami clone and using the blades of her fan to defeat the Ino clone, she tossed her fan towards one of her clones who caught it and used it to slice up an Ino clone she had pinned.
Her second clone fought against a few Nanami clones but really she was toying with them. Ducking barely even fighting as she allowed them to just slice their knives blindly before the other clone and the real woman joined at her side to kick the Nanami clones away from her sending them a few feet away.
Coyly, the three woman wagged their fingers at them shaming them for such a weak attempt. The woman crossed her fingers together and lightly skimmed them across her throat as she came to the rap performing a quick reverse curse technique to heal her voice before she continued with her song.
She quickly looked over towards the real Nanami and gave him a wink telling him she had this for now. A small smirk came across Nanami’s lips as his eyes looked at her in amazement and he gave her a small nod.
Better come right, better luck tryin', gettin' to my level
'Cause you might die, never the time, tryna start a battle
Bleeding isn't in my blood 뼛속부터 달라서
Beating you is what I do, do, do, yeah
Body on body, I'm naughty, not even sorry
And when you pull up, I'll pull up
A little late to the party (la-la-la-la)
Locked and loaded, I was born for this
There ain't no point in avoiding it
Annoyed? A bit
불을 비춰, 다 비켜, 네 앞길을 뺏겨
One clone took out a sword, another one had a spear, and the main woman one of her fans fully circled itself up turning into a shield. As the three women walked smugly and menacingly towards the shikigamis, they were trying to get away knowing their fate now after taking such a beating and feeling every bit of it from the others who had already been defeated. Raising each of their weapons menacingly as she and her own clones now had the Shikigamis cornered.
Then without mercy, the woman and her two clones attacked the Shikigamis singing their song in perfect three-part harmony. Beating the Shikigamis against the wall almost to the beat of the song itself before they faded into smoke.
One by one each Shikigami faded into smoke but none of the remaining ones got stronger due to the woman’s song of weakening their strength making them just as powerless as they were when they’re first created. The curse-user slammed his hand into the ground to disrupt the earth sending the woman and her clones off balance as they tripped and fell backwards onto the ground.
The main woman looked up as her two clones came up and helped her stand up as the curse user quickly made his escape. The woman tsked through her teeth annoyed at the cheap trick.
Knocking you out like a lullaby
Hear that sound ringing in your mind
Better sit down for the show
'Cause I'm gonna show you how it's done, done, done
JJ Sorcerers don't miss
How it's done, done, done
(Hey) JJ Sorcerers don't quit
How it's done, done, done
Run, run, we run the town
Whole world playin' my sound
Turnin' up, it's goin' down
JJ Sorcerers show this,
How it's done, done, done
She disbanded her two clones before going over towards Nanami and Ino dropping their barriers. Ino quickly got onto his feet while the woman stood over Nanami and extended her gloved hand to him. He took it and allowed her to help him up.
“You always seem to know when to arrive.” She gave him another wink before looking at him concerningly. She reached out to touch his face but he took her hand gently in his and told her softly, “I’m fine, thanks to you.”
“Uhh Nanami-san, I hate to interrupt but the curse user’s escaping. We can’t let him get back up to the hostages.”
“You’re right Ino-kun.” He then turned to the woman and asked her, “Can you get us to him before that happens?” she smirked and pulled out from her uniform a vial filled with honey, water and a dash of cayenne pepper. She bite the cap off and downed the contents of the vile like a shot of sake and felt the instant affects go down her throat.
“Ino-kun, whatever you may start to feel, allow your body to go with it. Don’t try to fight it.” Nanami told him.
“Ehh? But Nanami-san…..”
“Trust me. It’ll hurt a lot worse if you try to fight what’s about to happen.” A slight twitch of her brow and a quirk at the corner of her lips had her rap go even faster which increased hers, Ino’s and Nanami’s speed. The three of them raced down the path with great speed before leaping up along the walls to the next level.
They soon caught sight of the curse user, he fearfully summoned more shikigamis as scapegoats to try and make his escape. This time he added clones of the woman but she merely smirked as her song increased her speed before she leapt high into the air before coming straight down to kick her clone right in the face.
Nanami joined in as her immediate backup as a clone version of him tried to get her from behind while Ino handled two clone versions of himself as well as a Nanami clone. The woman handled a few more clones of herself as well as Ino but when a Nanami clone came up to her, she smirked seductively as she merely toyed with this clone swaying and bending her body away from his attacks before gripping onto his tie and pulling his face close to her.
Giving it a cheeky wink while wrapping her arm around it’s neck almost going in for a kiss. But she quickly tossed him aside like a ragdoll before using her fan to disintegrate it into smoke. Turning to the real Nanami she gave him a nod as the two of them ran on ahead towards the curse user.
Using her voice, she helped Nanami gain more momentum to leap into the air, his fist glowing with his curse energy as he punched the wall ahead of the curse user. The wall collapsed in on itself trapping the curse user from escaping further down into the tunnels of the sewer system. The smoke from the rubble disoriented him as he couldn’t see a thing in front of him until he saw a silhouette of the female warrior. But it was all a diversion as Nanami leapt up from behind and punched the ground again sending the curse user off his feet.
Yeah, something about when
You come for the crown
That's so humbling, huh?
갑자기 왜 그래? 먼저 건드려, 왜?
이제야 포기해 what?
Nothing to us, run up, you're done up, we come up
From sunup to sundown, so come out to play
Won either way, we're one in a million
We kill 'em, like, really? You want it? Okay
Heels, nails, blade, mascara
Fit check for my napalm era
Need to beat my face, make it cute and savage
Mirror, mirror on my phone, who's the baddest?
(Us, hello?)
Knocking you out like a lullaby
Hear that sound ringing in your mind
Better sit down for the show
'Cause I'm gonna show you (I'm gonna show you)
(I'm gonna show you)
How it's done, done, done
The curse user tried to summon out another Shikigami clone but the woman tossed her fan towards him cutting his wrist preventing him from creating anymore clones. She then came out of the smoke smirking as she gave Ino and Nanami an energy boost with her song. At the slow part of her song, she allowed Nanami to lead the first attack, then during her rap Ino joined in and had his fun as he attacked the curse user with simple hand to hand combat moves that not even he knew he could do.
Like when he had his legs wrap around the curse user’s neck before using his own body against him to throw him of balance before delivering a hard kick sending him flying a few feet across the ground like a rock skipping in a pond.
When she got done with the rap, she hopped off her rubble podium and strutted towards the curse user. Nanami and Ino trapping him from escaping back the same way he came. The curse user feeling his energy nearly spent and feeling absolute terror before this woman and her song. When she let out a controlled belt, Nanami and Ino felt their curse energy increase tenfold as did her own and she gave a mocking tilt at the curse user almost as if telling him.
Pray for God.
I don't talk, but I bite, full of venom (uh)
Spittin' facts, you know that's
How it's done, done, done
Okay, like, I know I ramble
But when shootin' my words, I go Rambo
Took blood, sweat, and tears to look natural (uh)
That's how it's done, done, done
Hear my voice unwavering
'Til my song defeats the curse
Makin' fear afraid to breathe
'Til the dark meets the light (how it's done, done, done)
Together all three Jujutsu sorcerers ganged up on the curse user with their enhanced strength.
Hitting him with their most powerful attacks and blinding speed of hand to hand combat, the song disorienting him along with each attack that hit him until he fell to the ground unconscious with the woman placing her foot on top of his head as extra insult to injury as she fanned herself.
Run, run, we run the town (done, done, done)
Whole world playin' my sound (done, done, done)
Turnin' up, it's going down (done, done, done)
JJ Sorcerers, show this, how it's done, done, done
We hunt you down, down, down
We got you now, now, now
We show you how, how, how
JJ Sorcerers don't miss,
How it's done, done, done
With the curse user now incapacitated and awaiting for the police to arrive to arrest him and the hostages safely brought out of the building, Nanami, (Y/n) and Ino left the scene and Ino let out an excited laugh as he praised.
“Whoa-ooh! That was amazing! Of course you’re always amazing Nanami-san but you miss, I—I’ve never seen anything like it! But who are you?”
“Ino-kun, this is Special grade 1 Sorcerer Inumaki (Y/n).” Nanami introduced Ino. Ino’s eyes widened as he finally took notice of the mark of the Inumaki clan on her armor. She bowed in greeting to Ino and he bowed in equal respect. “Unlike her cousin who is currently a student at Jujutsu High, (Y/n)-chan uses the power of song to enact her cursed speech.”
“Wow! Incredible! While you were singing, I felt stronger than I had ever felt in my entire life. Is that one of your techniques?” (Y/n) gave him a nod and a soft smile.
“Yes it’s her curse technique ‘Song empowerment’. With it she can either increase or decrease a person’s strength or her own depending on the song she sings.” Ino was in awe. “However she does tend to show off at times, making her more similar to Gojo-san at times.”
(Y/n) gawked and punched Nanami’s arm making him grin teasingly.
“I can only assume you didn’t come by your free will. Let me guess, Gojo-san told you where we were.” She nodded and typed up a message on her phone and it soon verbalized out loud.
‘He told me this curse user’s even gotten the upper hand over both grades one and two Sorcerers. I wanted to make sure you were alright.’
“We’re fine. In fact had you not come, things would’ve been much worse. I overestimated him and because of that, we nearly paid the price.”
“Nanami-san, you still lasted longer than I did. That curse user was a cheat to begin with. But we do appreciate the help Inumaki-san, thank you so much.” She smiled happily at Ino and typed on her app and the voice spoke up again.
‘Don’t sell yourself so short Ino-kun. Kento-kun has talked to me about your techniques and now seeing them in action, you could easily make Grade 1 sorcerer even without a recommendation.’ Ino laughed bashfully scratching the back of his head.
“I appreciate that Inumaki-san. But I’d rather do things the right way. The work of a jujutsu sorcerer can be some real dirty work, which is why I want to keep improving myself before Nanami-san and won’t accept a promotion without his approval.” (Y/n) smiled as she turned to Nanami.
She was reminded of an old friend of hers and Nanami’s seeing Ino-kun’s positive outlook on life and how he wanted to make the world a better place by improving his skills, especially before a senior. She saw so much of her best friend Yu-kun in this young man. No wonder Nanami chooses to work with him in most of his cases.
“Looks like we can go home early today, ne Nanami-san?” Ino said to him.
“Hmm, is that so, Ino-kun?” Nanami spoke softly. Ino tilted his head confused. Nanami then turned to him and continued, “Let’s have yakiniku tonight, right?” Ino’s eyes lite up as he praised.
“Nanami-san!” Nanami then turned to (Y/n) and offered.
“Would you like to join us (Y/n)-chan?” she pondered and turned to Ino. She knew that this was typically their thing together and she didn’t want to impose but Ino immediately piped up.
“Yes please join us! I’d love to hear more about your techniques and the curses you’ve probably exorcised with your techniques.” She smiled and typed on her phone before it spoke.
‘Give me about 15 minutes to get cleaned up. I’ll meet you guys there.’ They nodded and the three of them went their separate ways for the time being.
Like she promised, (Y/n) met up with Nanami and Ino (now cleaned of her warrior makeup and her uniform). She wore a simple pair of black pants, white blouse and a tan blazer. She also wore a cheetah print silk scarf around her neck to cover up the markings of the Inumaki clan that was actually along her throat instead of her mouth like the rest of those in her family who had been born with Cursed speech.
Although she still had the printed fangs on her tongue, the snake eyes lied along her throat where her vocal chords were that helped amplify her Cursed song techniques. As Ino worked the grill at their table, he called out to the server.
“Excuse me, two more bottles of Korean wine!” Ino then turned to (Y/n) and asked her, “So were you and Nanami-san in Jujutsu High together?” she nodded as Nanami gave a verbal response.
“We were in the same year together. (Y/n)-chan proved herself to be a worthy Jujutsu sorcerer even back then. Focused, hard-working, and loyal to a fault. Although having not yet learned of a Reverse curse technique back then, always made her vulnerable to overusing her curse technique to damage her throat.”
‘It was. The stinging sensation of throwing up blood is not what I recommend. But thanks to Ieiri-chan, I was able to learn my own reverse curse technique and heal my voice after I use my curse technique. I only hope Toge-kun can learn his own reverse curse technique, it hurts to see him be in so much pain afterwards.’
Nanami nonchalantly placed his hand right by hers but made sure that his pinkie finger lightly grazed against hers giving her some comfort.
“I’ve heard about the Cursed speech of the Inumaki clan but I’ve never known it to be by power of songs.”
‘It’s a rare gift. On my mother’s side of the family her curse technique required the power of soundwaves through musical instruments. Long ago, her ancestors were servants to the Inumaki clan until one couple united the families by marriage. Ever since then it’s a rare gift when a Cursed speech user is born to use their technique through song. I’m the first one to be born in…..120 years. Give or take.’ (Y/n)’s app spoke up for her.
Ino stared at her in amazement.
“And just seeing how you and Nanami-san work so well together with each of your techniques and even your hand-to-hand combat was amazing! It’s like you two were on the same wavelength, an extension of each other’s attacks.” (Y/n) shyly smiled as she looked over to Nanami and he said.
“There’s no one in this world I trust with my life more than (Y/n)-chan. I know she’ll have my back just as she knows I’ll have hers.” He turned to look at her and she gave him a peace sign when her phone vibrated. She reached into her pocket and saw the picture of Gojo lighting up her screen as his number and name flashed on the screen. “Must he always interrupt us?”
She patted his shoulder and answered it putting it up to her ear.
“Yo (N/n)-chan! Everything go alright?” she hummed once. “Great! I knew I could count on you to aid Nanami and Ino. Now onto the real reason I called, there’s another Grade 2 curse that needs attention and you’re the closest to it, so if you could take care of it I’d greatly appreciate it. Bye-bye!” he then hung up.
‘More like he didn’t want to risk Nanami’s wrath in going into overtime and getting smacked by him later since he knew what tonight was.’ She thought to herself before quickly typed on her app. ‘Sorry boys I’m afraid I gotta take another case. Could be getting home late.’
Nanami looked up at her worriedly but she touched his shoulder giving him a comforting pat before reaching up and running her fingers through his hair before turning to Ino and bowing her head before waving goodbye to him. He waved back and soon the Cursed-song sorcerer left the restaurant leaving the two men alone.
“She’s really nice Nanami-san. You two seem really close with each other.”
“I’m going to kill Gojo-san next time I see him.” Nanami growled lowly. Ino tilted his head pausing mid-grill on the meat he was currently working on. Nanami let out a frustrated sigh as he ran his fingers through his hair before saying, “He knew what today was, he’s the one who forced it to happen. Well now I shouldn’t even say that word ‘force’. Turned out to be the only good thing he ever did for us.”
“Nanami-san? You okay?” Ino asked. Realizing he wasn’t alone, Nanami let out another sigh and said.
“Sorry Ino-kun. Just now realizing that my plans for tonight aren’t going to go as planned because of (Y/n)-chan’s sudden new case she needs to work on. An anniversary dinner gone to waste.” Ino froze.
“Nanami-san……you mean you and—Inumaki-san are…..” Ino slowly spoke but internally he was flipping out thinking to himself, ‘EHHHHH?!?! NANAMI-SAN HAS A WIFE!? An equally strong and beautiful wife BUT A WIFE!?! How can I call myself an expert on Nanami-san when I didn’t even know about her? What if I had been asked about her when it came to differentiating between the real me and a clone? Nanami-san would’ve killed me right there on the spot.’
“I guess there’s no use in hiding it. Yes, (Y/n)-chan and I have been together for quite some time now. Due to Gojo-san back in our school days having a random dance party but then trying to make me jealous by going out with her in order to get us together. Today is actually our anniversary.”
“Oh! Congratulations Nanami-san. But I’m sure Inu—Mrs. Nanami will be done with her next case in no time surely giving you both enough time to spend some time together.”
“She’s not Mrs. Nanami, at least I hoped she would be tonight.” Nanami reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box. Ino’s eyes shined in awe before Nanami continued to explain. “I vowed to myself if ever I did find someone to share my life with, I couldn’t do it while being a Jujutsu Sorcerer. I couldn’t bear to have my partner live in fear day after day in fear of me not returning from a case. But (Y/n)-chan, she knows the risks of this line of work. Even through all the suffering she’s had, she still has such a kind heart for others, even when people who just meet her can’t understand her without her writing out her messages. I guess that’s the main reason that drew me to her even back then.”
“Even though I don’t know her as well as you do Nanami-san, I get what you mean, even after just meeting her just tonight. I’m sure she doesn’t need to have the ‘perfect proposal idea’. All she would need is you, right?”
“You’re right. Thank you Ino-kun.” His eyes flickered down to the grill. “You might want to think about replacing that piece of meat. I don’t think it’ll be editable to eat anymore.” Ino looked down before shrieking at the now extra burnt piece of meat as he quickly tossed it aside and prepared another piece of meat.
Muttering self-degrading things to himself as Nanami softly shook his head at the young man always wanting to prove himself to him when he doesn’t really need to. He was capable of so much, but it was nice to know that someone was looking up to him for approval and guidance.
Later that night as the night drew on and 10:55pm flashed through some of the clocks, (Y/n) came sliding into the apartment exhausted as she panted and let out some small coughs trying to clear her throat. Just because she could master the reverse curse technique to heal her voice, doesn’t mean it still doesn’t leave the hoarseness left behind.
“Welcome home darling.” She smiled as she saw Nanami with a bottled water in his hand. She took the water bottle and drank a few good sips of it before going into his arms as he wrapped them around her holding her close to his chest. “I’ve prepared a warm bath with some of your favorite bath bombs. After that, how about I give you a massage and then we can get ready for bed.”
(Y/n) looked up at her beloved and cupped the side of his face before bringing him down to kiss his lips and giving him a soft, loving look of gratitude.
“You’re welcome my love.” She took his left hand and gently kissed it before looking up at him with a sweet yet seductive look. “You wish for me to join you?” she nodded and pulled him towards the bathroom without another word already knowing he’d agree to join her in the bath. After all, it was their anniversary and who was he to deny her a special request especially since she had to work more overtime than he did.
The couple washed each other’s bodies and Nanami even volunteered to wash her hair for her. She offered to do the same but Nanami politely declined saying that tonight was all for her. After finishing up in the bath, as promised Nanami gave his loving girlfriend a massage on their bed using some of the body oils she had bought awhile back.
She hummed softly as those strong hands that she’s seen break apart rubble or smash a curse user’s face in, knead her skin with a firm but gentle pressure to get all the knots out of her body. She swears everytime he offers to give her a massage, that he’s using his 7:3 curse technique to find just the right spot to massage.
After her free massage from the man she loved, (Y/n) could hardly keep her eyes open. Nanami adjusted her position from the foot of the bed back to the right side of the bed, keeping her close as her face immediately placed itself on top of his chest right over his heart. The familiar thump-thump of his heartbeat rang in her ears, her most favorite song ever.
“I had originally planned something extra special for today once we were able to come home, but of course that white-haired idiot had to take you away from our special day.” She patted his chest and shook her head. “You’re right, the work of a Jujutsu Sorcerer is never over, especially when you outrank me.” She had her index and thumb finger barely touching each other telling him by only a bit.
To her there was no competition on who was strongest between the two of them. For together they truly made an unstoppable force with his ratio precision and her song empowerment.
She raised her head up and came up towards Nanami’s face before leaning in and giving him a peck on the nose before turning away bashfully. Nanami chuckled and stroked her hair and said.
“How is it that after all this time, no matter where you kiss me, you always go red whenever you kiss my nose?” she grumbled before playfully hitting his chest making him laugh again. “Sorry, sorry, I don’t mean to tease. I just think it’s adorable. You’re adorable.” He then whispered into her ear, “My love, look at me.” She looked up at him and he kissed her nose back.
She let out a tiny squeak as her cheeks went red and Nanami chuckled again as he stroked her cheek with his finger.
“The red on your cheeks make you even more beautiful.” She whined again as Nanami pulled her even closer as he continued, “Where else shall I kiss you now? Your forehead?” he placed a kiss to her forehead gingerly, “You cheek?” another kiss was placed on her cheek. “The side of your neck?” as he placed a kiss there, he softly moaned and the vibrations from his lips sent a shiver of pleasure down her back. “Your jaw?” a soft kiss was placed at her jawline as she wriggled in his hold before cupping the side of his face.
A small mischievous grin was on Nanami’s face as he now leaned in and captured her lips with his. The soft yet passionate make out session the two high ranking sorcerers had felt like something out of a romance novel. It wasn’t just about getting into the other’s pants, no both Nanami and (Y/n) held nothing but pure love for the other and each passionate kiss they shared with each other was them showing the other just how much love they had to give to the other (the sex was just a bonus as far as either party was concerned).
After Nanami separated for that nagging need of air, the two of them softly panting as they tried to catch their breath.
“I think that’s enough for tonight. Don’t want to get too carried away.” (Y/n) pouted. “It’s getting late my love, plus I can see those bags under your eyes. Have you not been sleeping again?” she fiddled with a strand of her hair not looking Nanami in his eyes. He let out a sigh and brought her head back over his chest, one hand claiming it’s spot behind her head to soothingly stroke her hair while the other wrapped around her back keeping her close as it rubbed soothingly up and down on her back. “Sleep now my love. We both put in for our day off tomorrow, we can continue our fun then. And I’ll give you a proper anniversary three-course meal.”
She nuzzled into Nanami’s bare chest before leaving a kiss to his sternum.
